PSHRA-CP cheat sheet

FLSA: nonexempt employees receive 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek; exempt status requires passing the salary basis, salary level, and duties tests.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers employers with 15 or more employees; EEOC charges generally must be filed within 180 days, or 300 days in jurisdictions with a worksharing agency.

ADEA covers individuals age 40 and older at employers with 20 or more employees; FMLA covers employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles and provides 12 workweeks of unpaid leave.

ADA/ADAAA (15 or more employees) requires reasonable accommodation absent undue hardship; medical examinations are permitted only after a conditional offer of employment.

USERRA provides reemployment rights after uniformed service of up to 5 cumulative years and prohibits discrimination based on military service or obligation.

COBRA applies to employers with 20 or more employees; maximum continuation is 18 months for termination or reduced hours and 36 months for divorce, death, or Medicare entitlement.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires a completed Form I-9 within 3 business days of the hire date.

GINA prohibits the use of genetic information in employment decisions; public-sector merit systems separately require merit-based selection and veterans' preference where mandated.

A complete policy contains purpose, scope, definitions, responsibilities, procedures, approval authority, effective date, and a scheduled review cycle.

A policy states what must be done and why; a procedure states how it is done step by step; a guideline is advisory only.

FLSA payroll records must be retained 3 years; ADEA records 2 years; Title VII and ADA hiring and personnel records 1 year.

Form I-9 must be retained for 3 years after the date of hire or 1 year after separation, whichever is later.

FMLA records, including leave dates, hours, and benefit continuations, must be kept for 3 years.

Handbooks should carry a clear at-will or employment-relationship disclaimer plus a signed acknowledgment to reduce implied-contract claims.

Medical, workers' compensation, and investigation files are maintained separately from the general personnel file with restricted access.

Job descriptions document essential functions, FLSA designation, reporting relationships, and minimum qualifications, supporting both ADA and classification decisions.

Job analysis precedes the job description and identifies tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, and essential functions.

Yield ratio = applicants advancing to the next stage divided by applicants at the prior stage; it diagnoses the effectiveness of each recruiting source.

Four-fifths (80%) rule: adverse impact is indicated when a protected group's selection rate is less than 80% of the rate of the highest-selecting group.

Structured interviews use the same questions in the same order with behaviorally anchored rating scales, producing higher validity and lower bias than unstructured formats.

A BFOQ is a narrow defense requiring the characteristic to be reasonably necessary to the business; it cannot rest on customer preference or stereotypes.

Time to fill = days from requisition approval to offer acceptance; cost per hire = total recruiting costs divided by number of hires.

Under the ADA, physical agility tests and medical examinations are post-offer only, and all applicants in a job category must face the same screening steps.

Public-sector merit systems require public announcement, rating against stated minimum qualifications, documented selection rationale, and veterans' preference credit where required by law.

Classification matches duties and responsibilities to class specifications containing title, definition, distinguishing characteristics, minimum qualifications, and FLSA status.

Point-factor evaluation assigns points to compensable factors such as skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions to establish an internal job hierarchy.

Compa-ratio = employee salary divided by pay range midpoint; 1.00 equals midpoint, values below 1.00 indicate pay below midpoint.

Range spread = (maximum - minimum) divided by minimum, times 100; ranges generally widen at higher-level grades.

Midpoint progression = (higher grade midpoint - lower grade midpoint) divided by lower grade midpoint, showing the percentage step between grades.

Red circle rates mark pay above range maximum, usually frozen; green circle rates mark pay below range minimum.

Pay compression occurs when new hires' pay approaches or exceeds that of experienced incumbents, eroding internal equity and differentials.

FLSA exemption turns on the duties and salary tests rather than the job title; market pricing uses salary survey data to set competitive midpoints.

Progressive discipline typically proceeds verbal warning, written warning, suspension, then termination, with documentation at each step.

Just cause generally requires notice of the rule, consistent enforcement, a fair investigation, credible proof, equal treatment, and a penalty proportionate to the offense.

Mandatory bargaining subjects include wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment; permissive subjects may be bargained but cannot be required.

Public-sector impasse resolution commonly escalates through mediation, fact-finding, and interest arbitration where authorized by statute.

Weingarten rights give union-represented employees the right to representation during investigatory interviews that may result in discipline.

Public employees with a property interest in continued employment are entitled to notice of charges and a pre-termination hearing (Loudermill).

Appraisal methods include graphic rating scales, critical incident, BARS, management by objectives, and 360-degree feedback.

Rater errors include halo and horn, leniency, strictness, central tendency, recency, and similarity bias.

A performance improvement plan documents specific deficiencies, measurable expectations, support offered, and a defined review timeline.

ERISA governs most private-sector plans; governmental plans are generally exempt from ERISA's reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary provisions.

ACA employer mandate: an average of 30 or more hours per week, or 130 hours per month, defines full-time, and waiting periods cannot exceed 90 days.

COBRA gives 60 days from notice to elect coverage and 45 days to pay the first premium, with coverage retroactive to the qualifying event date.

Section 125 cafeteria plans permit pre-tax employee premium contributions and pre-tax flexible spending account elections.

HSA eligibility requires enrollment in a qualifying high-deductible health plan and no disqualifying coverage such as Medicare or a general-purpose FSA.

Governmental 457(b) plans allow pre-tax deferred compensation, carry separate contribution limits from 401(a)/403(b) plans, and impose no 10% early withdrawal penalty.

Defined benefit vesting in public plans is commonly a 5-year cliff or a graded schedule; vesting guarantees accrued benefits, not continued employment.

FMLA provides 12 workweeks of job-protected unpaid leave per 12-month period and requires continuation of group health coverage on the same terms.

Turnover rate = separations during the period divided by average headcount, times 100; average headcount = (beginning + ending headcount) divided by 2.

FTE = total paid hours divided by 2,080 (40 hours x 52 weeks).

Cost per hire = total internal and external recruiting costs divided by the number of hires in the period.

Absenteeism rate = days absent divided by (average headcount x scheduled workdays), times 100.

Time to fill runs from requisition open date to offer acceptance; time to start runs from requisition open date to first day worked.

Validity means the system measures what it is intended to measure; reliability means repeated measurement produces consistent results.

HRIS access should follow role-based least privilege with audit trails on personally identifiable information and encryption in transit and at rest.

Leading indicators such as applicant flow and time to fill predict future outcomes; lagging indicators such as turnover and cost per hire report past results.