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in this topic i will introduce hrci's phr exam and the requirements to prepare for it this is a table a skill soft professional in human resources 2020 program the courses are designed to support the hrci's professional and human resources phr certification exam the program has been updated to reflect the hrci's 2021 phr exam requirements the content is based on the current 2018 phr exam content outline and provides complete coverage of the knowledge and responsibilities of the five functional areas which is how the courses are aligned as a note hrci updates exam content outlines about every five years upon completion of the courses listed you'll be eligible to earn a skillsoft digital badge as an added bonus to having this as your study tool this can be employed as an ongoing job reference the phr exam program overview chart will be shown at the start of each course it will be our journey map throughout the program the red bar will highlight the current course as you can see the red bar is at the top highlighting the first course this is where we are we will cover the organization of the functional areas and the courses in more detail as we move further into discussing the program content for now this book marks the first step of our journey we'll have a look at how the exam is structured the exam format what you can expect exam questions which are referred to as items and what they look like the phr is one of eight professional certifications offered by hrci phr is the most popular certification it tests the proficiency of the technical and operational aspects of hr practices laws and regulations in the united states the phr exam is available in spanish language upon request the exam covers the five functional areas of competency employee and labor relations at 39 of the exam business management at 20 percent talent planning and acquisition at 16 total rewards at 15 percent and learning and development at 10 effective may 1st 2021 the phr exam will consist of 90 scored items ranging in level of difficulty all items should be answered and there are no partial marks responses are either correct or incorrect each exam will have 25 unscored pre-test items which will be used to validate testing standards for a future exam you'll have no way of knowing which ones these are so treat every item as being important you will have two hours to complete the exam while you are permitted to take breaks the timer will continue to count down you can estimate approximately 1 minute per question and 5 minutes for overall review however remember that each question will take varying times to complete personally i was glued to my seat and took all the time allotted for the sphr which is more difficult however this is not a competition do whatever works for you more on this later the exam is computer based and there are two testing options both with your choice of location and appointment time the first option is in-person at an independent testing center and the second option is a remotely proctored exam from your home or office with certain restrictions the hrci website will have more information on this the content of the questions is classified based on three cognitive levels knowledge and comprehension focuses on remembering factual materials such as definitions or terminology application and problem solving is based on leveraging generalizations or principles to solve everyday problems and synthesis and evaluation which solves complex problems using critical thinking skills and different elements the phr exam will include a variety of item types which will be portrayed in the form of a question a statement or an open-ended sentence let's take a look at them traditional multiple choice these are the majority of questions multiple choice multiple response these are like multiple choice except there are two or more correct answers scenario situational judgment they require you to integrate facts from different subject areas fill in the blank you'll provide missing information drag and drop you'll match information from two columns these are important so we'll take a look at each type this would be a good time to prepare to start taking notes if you haven't already done so traditional multiple choice these items contain a stem or premise and four answer choices including one correct answer as this is the most common type of question we're going to spend some time and break this down further the item will appear on the screen do you know the correct answer go ahead and pause your recording for a minute and figure it out okay lock your answers in and i'll check back with you shortly from the stem you'll be required to select the best response by best the phr exam is asking for the response that a panel of hr subject matter expert would agree that is correct of the four answer choices some are distractors which are written to look correct but are not are not the best answer the purpose of making other answers look correct is to assess your knowledge and judgment in an hr environment there's only one correct answer so how did you do great if you have the correct answer and if you didn't don't take it as a negative it's the first step in understanding how to assess the way in which you think and process information why did you pick the answer that you did why did you discount each of the others take note of the reason to help you in guiding to align with what an hr subject matter expert would agree is correct i'm all about process and making things easy and repeatable so here's my approach to responding to exam items it may take some getting used to but it works when you get an exam item you're going to read the last sentence first and then the rest of the question this will help you to determine what is being asked then you want to come up with a potential answer this will help you to focus on the generally accepted hr practices you'll review the options that they provide to find the one that best matches yours trust your first instinct as this will help you to select the best answer you're going to pick an answer if you're unsure you want to make sure that you mark an answer now so you'll be able to come back to it answer every question in order this will be helpful when you get into full-length tests we've provided this format on the resources section of the course where you can also find other course job aids now let's try the same question again but using a new approach you want to read the last sentence first and then the rest of the question there's only one sentence so this is straightforward had there be more than one sentence then you would start with the last sentence and then go back to the first sentence and read forward this will help you to determine what is being asked you come up with your own potential answer to help you focus on the generally accepted hr practices then you'll review the options that are provided to find the one that matches yours now if you had made the assumption that the question was asking for agencies as you view the options you would quickly translate your response into acts i hope you caught that i switched things up a bit always use the process as the question may appear to be similar but have a twist now multiple choice multiple response these are like multiple choice items except there are two or more correct answers the item will tell you how many correct options they are in situation judgment scenario questions the scenario items present typical hr situation followed by a series of exam items based on this scenario the scenarios require you to integrate facts from different subject areas remember answers are either correct or incorrect no partial marks okay in filling the blanks you'll be asked to provide a number a word or phrase to complete a sentence let's look at a sample so be sure you read the instructions carefully using the process we just learned what is the question asking for the key here is the minimum wage and not the tipped wage so what's your correct response in this instance had you put in 7.25 or dollar sign 7.25 both would be incorrect because the ask is for whole numbers no symbols or punctuations remember answers are either correct or incorrect no partial marks in drag and drop you'll be asked to click on certain pieces of information and drag them with your cursor to place them in the correct position in this example on the left we have a list of tools and then on the right we have a list of processes your ask is to match the related items go ahead and start with the ones that you know as you work through until the end be sure to answer them all even if you have to guess no response is a zero a response is a 25 chance of getting it correct i'll run through the list termination is aligned with exit survey change management with culture map project management with gantt chart and performance review with appraisal these are the variation of item types keep deploying my approach and it will help you with time management and zeroing in on the best response faster [Music] in this video i'll provide an overview of hrci's body of knowledge and how it's used a foundational element of a profession is to establish a body of knowledge or bach this is a framework a standardized set of concepts that identifies what a profession does and how it's done by its approved members through an extensive hr practice analysis process hrci created the hr bach to be a framework of the hr profession to be used by practitioners and educators to describe what work is done and how it provides a thorough understanding of the different areas of hr and can help an hr department understand if it's functioning appropriately by comparing it against the hr box framework the phr exam organizes the generally accepted hr practices of the hr bach framework into these five functional areas employee and labor relations prevent and resolve workplace problems involving employees and assist managers with managing within the law to accomplish the organization's desires goals and objectives business management establishes and runs the business by aligning the right people processes structures and tools for optimal support talent planning and acquisition assesses future organizational staffing and defines the ongoing hr processes to acquire skilled workers for short on long-term plans total rewards create equitable structures to evaluate jobs and value employees for their contributions learning and development improves organizational group and individual performance by increasing and honing skills the test specifications are made up of two components hrci leverages industry professionals to help define knowledge and professional competencies required for the hr practice the hr tasks and knowledge needed perform them are extensively researched and then grouped into functional areas each provided description of the concepts task and knowledge you need to successfully understand and perform the hr related duties associated at the certification level exam questions are also peer-reviewed for technical validity and applicability to the current hr practice and applied job knowledge this is where the 25 pre-test items on the exam comes into play [Music] in this video i'll share the phr's exam eligibility and passing requirements the phr exam is predominantly experience based and heavily focused on the hr buck your experience will provide the foundation for organizing the knowledge and responsibilities in the way the hr box requires however in practice your company may operate differently so you'll need to stay focused on the generally accepted hr practices candidates for the phr exam must meet the criteria outlined on the right hrc defines professional level experience as an hr role specialized in the field of hr with independent judgment and discretion working with a range of people therefore a people manager whose primary job function is not hr is not likely to qualify depending on the length of qualified hr experience the educational level will also vary the application process is straightforward but if you have any questions call hrci's customer service line before applying the process begins with creating an online account to provide your eligibility information and submit the processing fee check around social media for application fee discounts there's often one available you'll also have the option to purchase second chance insurance just in case you need to retake the exam this is a non-refundable fee so do well and it won't be required hrci will review your credentials against the eligibility requirements applications can be denied audited or approved exams are offered year-round once approved you'll be able to schedule your exam within 120 days from the date of your approval pearsonview administers exams and will require you to have your hrci approval letter to schedule an appointment there are additional fees to reschedule or cancel the exam hrci reports results using scaled scores which is the result of a transformation applied to the raw score exams are taken daily at a variety of centers and candidates receive randomized exams so no two exams are similar all exams are transformed to the same scaled score this allows all exams to have the same parameters or be on the same scale hrci exams are designed to be determined on a pass or did not pass decision based on the total score of the exam and on achieving a scaled score on or above 500 on the entire exam the score will fall between a range of 100 and 700 immediately after testing at a pearson view center you'll receive a copy of your results the exam result will indicate pass or did not pass if you did not pass your score will fall between 100 and 4.99 the closer your score is to 500 the closer you were to passing the exam when you do pass the exam you'll receive an official confirmation in the mail along with your certification and a letter explaining future professional development activities you will also receive the official title phr to be added to your initials during calendar year 2020 11917 hr practitioners tested for one of hrci's 8 credentials as of january the 12th 2021 phr had 71 130 certification holders this is 52 of all certification holders combined and 33 more than the next level the phr pass rate was 71 at the end of december 2020 however it is not uncommon that many candidates take the test as a look-see which is to take the test for the experience and to be better prepared hopefully they purchase second chance insurance which is a reduced rate to retake the exam after not passing many candidates choose this option for the level of comfort just in case the choice is yours we're committed to providing you with quality content and a great learning experience with your partnership and commitment to the process together we can achieve success studying and testing above 80 on half or full exams will help you to achieve this goal recertification is required to maintain your designation and demonstrates your ongoing commitment to professional development in the hr field 60 with certification credits are required every three years effective january the 1st 2021 all certificants must fulfill one ethics credit this requirement ensures certificates remain aware of the crucial ethical practices and behaviors in the workplace the phr does not have specified credit hours and allows 59 general certification credits from two areas on the left is professional development which has no maximum so the remaining 59 credits can be applied to those categories with up to 30 credits used for self-directed learning on the right professional achievement allows for 40 credits to be used from those categories with up to 12 credits for hr membership retaking the exam is also an option however i'm sure that after this experience you'll keep up with the recertification credits in this video i'll share preparation techniques and will help you assess your level of hr knowledge to create a study plan that will guide you in allocating the appropriate amount of study time hrci exams are based on the functional areas of the hr buck so learn as much as you can in the areas where you have little or no exposure you may not have all the skills or experience but they can be acquired when i took the sphr i was new to the us i was already certified in canada and needed to brush up on my us compensation and benefits as well as labor relations which are both structurally different between the countries in preparation i purchased an educational textbook on each topic then the week of the exam i took off work and spent that time studying like it was a full-time job it was a painful process but i was successful i try to take the sphr as a refresher every five years when the exam content changes and the process is grueling mostly me having anxiety there's no one preparation method that can meet everyone's needs so leverage multiple resources are a great idea study groups can be useful either online or in person as you'll remember hrci allows 120 days from the application approval to take the exam if you feel you'll need more time begin your journey then apply within that window once you apply and receive approval you're on the clock so every day has to count most candidates will spend 10 to 12 weeks or 100 to 120 hours preparing each person will be different create a schedule that will be right for you this table displays the courses similarly to what we looked at at the start let's have a look at the details the weighting of the five functional areas specifies the technical and operational proficiency at the phr level we've subdivided each of these functional areas into a series of courses to cover the exam content the content is structured from the perspective of starting a new business and employing a life cycle approach to cover the functions employment legislation is foundational and covered within each of the functional areas however this is also a course so it's easy to transfer and to reference phr candidates are responsible for knowing the hr laws and regulations that are in effect at the time of their exam the current exam is based on 2018. one of the biggest challenges of any exam is fair in the unknown you're now in the know let's recap the salient points and prepare to embark on preparation the ability to apply knowledge the range of hr topics we'll cover will be broad so you will inevitably learn something theoretical or practical that will be applicable on the exam federal requirements will be after 1960. you'll be required to have a knowledge of key employment legislation prior to 1960 such as the national labor relations act of 1935 but you will not be specifically tested on any act outside of 1960-2018 generally accepted hr practices it will be important to understand the common response that will be agreed to by the society of hr practitioners as a benchmark and best response for exam questions on the knowledge heat map shown here i've identified the number of videos covered in each course so you can see the depth and breadth of the content there's no correlation with the volume of wednes or importance some functional areas are just more voluminous and will take more time to cover a personalized copy of the knowledge heat map will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses you can access a copy from the resources section of the website this exercise will require some tools your copy of a knowledge heat map three highlighters or dots or pens or three colors of your preference hrci's phr exam content outline if you are unsure of what the courses may entail at a high level let's begin rate your skills based on the names of the 18 courses highlight in either red yellow or green red for an area where you may need help studying yellow if you've worked in this area or understand the concepts and green you're writing a book on this topic be completely honest about where you are as it will determine where and how much time you will spend on preparation that's it this is your personal assessment and no need to share it as you delve into the content the color pattern may change but this is a good starting point to gauge your time commitment also don't ignore the green areas as you'll want to keep them strong now start to think about how you'll supplement your studying one of the most valuable things you can do is invest in practice exams there are plenty of resources available but find a good resource that will match hrci style or they will add no value look for exams that are based on the 2018 content as well as exams that will provide feedback so now you can organize your study based on the results of your heat map assuming that you have 12 full weeks or more to study here's a plan that may work for you if you don't think about how you can tailor it to fit this plan accounts for working through skillsof's professional human resources 2020 program which is organized by life cycle processes the first 11 weeks covers the functional areas with a practice exam after each functional area this is suggested pays for going through the functional areas this practice exam should be half an exam so about 45 to 90 minutes in length and the same number of questions it will be important that you take your own personal notes as you work through the content cnn hearing will have a recall rate of fifty percent after two weeks writing things down helps solidify to memory and making learning more active get into the habit of reading your notes after a video so you have the potential to increase your attention 70 to 90 percent longer after two weeks the week prior to the exam will be spent reviewing those personal notes taking full practice exams will provide the endurance testing needed before the big day plan to do something every day until exam day it can be as simple as 10 flash cards a day or recapping your set of notes also keep in mind the longer your delay in taking the exam the more effort you'll need to put into remembering the content we'll review two options a fixed exam date which is planning backwards calculate the time between now and the exam date determine how you want to study during that time and then schedule your time based on your personalized study plan option 2 is an open exam date which is working forward determine how much time you want to commit to studying each week schedule that time on the calendar and stick to it and then be sure to keep the exam deadline in mind [Music] this video identifies ways in which you can benefit from the study plan let's have a look at the course design this table shown is essentially your knowledge heat map with two courses added the introduction at the top and the summary at the bottom in total we have 250 videos over the program this full overview will help you in planning and budgeting your time this path follows the content in life cycle order starting with the top left of the screen and moving to the right we'll start with the introduction to the phr this will then be led by the employment legislation course followed by business management and then talent planning and acquisition will complete the top half we'll continue our journey with the bottom right to left with learning and development and then total rewards followed by employee and labor relations and we'll finish with a phr exam summary the study plan we walked through earlier will complement this path over a 12-week period we have some other options to consider as well functional weighting leverages the weighting of the five functional areas knowledge gap identifies areas where you need to increase your score time factor uses your planning action time calculator to assess the time starting with employee and labor relations as the highest weighted area at 39 percent and building your path in descending weight order to learning and development at the lowest weighted area at 10 percent you can do the reverse order let's take a look at these two paths for the highest weighted path we start from the top of the screen and move to the right with the introduction to the phr then employee and labor relations at 39 followed by business management at 20 and then we round out the top with talent planning and acquisition at 16 moving from the bottom right to the left with total rewards at 15 percent then learning and development at 10 and then we'll follow with employment legislation and finish up with the phr exam summary employment legislation is highlighted because this can be taken in any order i would include it last because it's incorporated into the other functional areas if you're starting with the lowest weight path it may be helpful to have the foundation of employment legislation so i recommend this as a second course starting from the top left of the screen and moving to the right with introduction to phr then you have your employment legislation as i recommended and then we'll follow by learning and development at 10 and then we'll move to total rewards at 15 to run out the top half we'll move from the bottom right to the left with talent planning at 16 followed by business management at 20 percent and then employment and labor relations at 39 and we'll finish with the phr summary for knowledge gap options you'll have three approaches your knowledge heat map where you can address your lowest ratings or you can look to increase your competencies if you have a practice exam you can assess your skills in each of the phr functional areas and then identify where you want to improve your scores another approach would be to target the areas where you want to use as your starting point and then build your path forward for time sequencing factors here are your choices you can start with short time periods to study for example only afternoons each week short time until the exam perhaps using this as a refresher if you have a longer time period of balance perhaps you're doing this as meeting the exam requirements whatever your situation or program is flexible and portable allow you to consume your learning when you need it where you need it for your short time burst path i recommend taking the book ends first to help plan with the end in mind this path will display the number of courses and videos within each of the functional areas so starting from the top left of the screen and moving to the right we have the introduction to the phr and then we have the phr exam summary followed by business management and then talent planning and acquisition completes the top half we continue this journey from the bottom right to the left with learning and development and then total rewards followed by employee and labor relations and then we'll have employment legislation and then we'll have the phr exam summary again if that is then needed each course and functional area can stand alone so you can study in any particular order i do recommend keeping the functional areas together if you're newer to the hr profession if you're looking for a specific area of study picking from here will also be beneficial as you start to dwelve into the content here are some things to keep in mind for legislation do not try to memorize the content however do related to familiar situations for faster recall as you come across models learn the concepts and how they they apply to the tools to make your job more efficient always be thinking about questions find exam type questions in the content and prepare for unexpected questions try to simplify look for ways to synthesize the content it needs to be digested [Music] over this course the goal was to help you assess how much effort would be required for you to prepare for the phr exam to do this we shared the contents of the exam how hrci would use the box to create the exam content we reviewed the requirements to apply study pass and maintain certification and we also demonstrated how you can create your own personalized plan for your specific needs no matter where you are in the process this is achievable and you can do it be realistic with your goals and you must put in the time it's worth it and i'm looking forward to guiding you on this journey in the next course we'll address u.s legislation and the impact on the employment relationship [Music] in this topic we'll recall employee rights and labor laws on the phr exam program overview chart will be covering employment legislation which is highlighted in red it's appropriately located just below all of the functional areas and represents the foundation from which hr professionals will rely on to hone their craft and stay compliant every hr role has a layer of compliance and the knowledge of legislation and experience in handling issues will help to minimize the businesses exposure to legal risk depending on the path that you have chosen to take these courses you may have already covered some legislative topics or just digging in either way you are here just when you are meant to be and will take this in stride the legislations are categorized to make them digestible and relatable you'll definitely want to be taking notes and in addition capture on the sidebar how each topic could be implied to solve problems that you have come across or aware of in news stories to quickly make the connection exam candidates are responsible for knowing the hr laws and regulations that are in effect at the time of their exam which is based on january the 1st 2018 in addition laws prior to 1960 will not be explicitly covered though the concepts may be inferred let's take a look we'll be covering the highlights why this topic is important to hr and the sources the different ways legislation will come into effect human resources or hr is conducted with a high degree of oversight from regulatory agencies through labor laws and legislation an element of compliance for many labor laws is that written policies are in place these are most often formally communicated through an employee handbook and outlines employee and employer rights and responsibilities labor laws also place heavy emphasis on documentation and record keeping these include requirements for storage retention and disposal of all related records to employment sources of law are the origins of the law the binding rules that enable governance the term source of law may sometimes refer to the sovereign or the seat of power from which the law derives its validity here are the sources for employment legislation united states constitution this is a supreme law and is a source of all government powers statutes there are written enactments or authorizations made by legislature and expressed in a formal written document to pass law case law is also known as judicial precedence or judgment law and is the body of law derived from judicial decisions of the court and similar tribunals agency regulations agencies authorized to develop rules criteria for measuring whether employers are in compliance agency orders the powers of the agency to force compliance with federal laws executive orders these are issued by the president of the united states these bodies provide the core laws or rules of conduct established to maintain stability and justice that are applicable in all stages of an employee's life cycle from pre-hiring process through termination the constitution it serves to protect individual liberties and define how government is organized and the power and responsibilities the constitution is a blueprint for the entire government and everything that the government does must be consistent with the constitution therefore if any action is taken by any part of the government that is inconsistent with the constitution that action is said to be unconstitutional and it must be struck down statutes these are created by the federal state and local legislatures which are comprised of elected officials who have the power to create laws courts must apply statutes if available to the facts of a case if no statutes exist the court defers to common law or case law statutes are passed by legislatures who are empowered to make laws statutes have control over common law or case law were the two conflict an exception to this is if the statute can be thrown out of court under interpretations made by the applicable case law that the statute is unconstitutional case law legislatures cannot write laws for every possible factual scenario therefore case laws are written broadly enough to be applicable to every variety of situations in situations where an applicable law may not be clear the courts may engage in statutory interpretation to determine the legislature's intent and the decision is referred to as a precedent as a footnote common law refers to a law that has not been actually codified or passed by legislature but nonetheless applied by the courts based on a tradition and the legal history of the united states and even dating back the legal system in england administrative law is a body of law that governs the regulations of government agencies at the federal and state levels it refers to the regulations created by administrative agencies which are part of the executive branch and are charged with the administration of government functions they create the legislature through enabling statutes agency regulations they develop rules or regulations and publish them in the federal register and give the public an opportunity to comment on the proposals after the comment period the agency publishes the final rule that take effect no less than 30 days after the public date of notice agency orders the agency has the power of compliance with federal laws in court known as administrative law courts once issued by an administrative law judge alj in these cases have the effect of the law and many of these decisions are published in the federal register as regulations become more pervasive the body of administrative law has become increasingly important executive orders are written statements of the president issued as a directive or instruction for the actions of the executive agencies to set policies for the executive branch to follow an executive order has a full force and effect of a law enacted by the legislature except where it's contradicted by duly past federal law therefore the president can issue an executive order to bypass congress's bureaucracy and advance policy objectives without having to go through the legislative process the president can draw on three sources to issue an executive order the first is the constitution itself the second source of authority is from the legislative branch the third source is the president's inherent authority which is defined in black's law dictionary as a power that necessarily derives from an office position or status an executive order becomes law after published in the federal register for 30 days each of these three branches has a distinct and essential role in the function of the government to ensure no single person or entity has a monopoly of power on the left is a legislative branch as a whole it is charged with passing the nation's laws congress may pass laws but the president has the power to veto them congress in turn may override a veto in the center is the executive branch which is administered by the president of the united states the president enforces the law that the legislative branch makes on the right is the judicial branch which consists of united states supreme court and lower federal courts under the supreme court's constitutional jurisdiction its primary function is to hear cases that challenge the constitutionality of the legislation or require interpretation of that legislation the law of federal courts also decide cases dealing with its constitutionality of laws as well as cases involving the laws and treaties of united states ambassadors and public ministers disputes between two or more states admiralty law also known as maritime law and bankruptcy cases decisions of the lower federal courts can be and are often appealed to the u.s supreme court the two chambers of congress the house of representatives and the senate must approve all legislation bills and resolutions before they can be sent to the president for signature and final enactment are passed into law both the house and senate must pass an identical bill by a simple majority vote using the same process we'll now step through the process of how a bill becomes law starting in the upper left corner and moving right first a lawmaker introduces a bill in either the senate or the house of representatives it is reviewed by the appropriate committee or subcommittee the subcommittee reviews the bill holds hearings and makes amendments that it deems necessary once a subcommittee is satisfied with the bill it represents the new version to the full committee dropping down to the second row and moving from right to left if the full committee approves the bill the bill goes to the full chamber in which it was originally introduced the senate or the house for the debate and final vote if the first chamber passes the bill the bill is presented to the other chamber where it is reviewed in similar fashion both chambers must approve the bill in identical form dropping down to the last row and moving from left to right once approved by both chambers the bill is presented to the president for signature once signed the bill becomes law and is effective as the legislature has prescribed now at the previous step the president can also refuse to sign the bill an action known as a veto so this will jump to the step to the right of the bill becomes law when this happens it prevents the bill from becoming a law although vetoes can often be overridden by a super majority of votes by the legislature under the federal system a two-third majority of both houses of congress is required to override a presidential veto still another option is the federal government's provision while the house legislature is still in session and the president does not sign the bill within a certain number of days the bill will automatically become a law successful businesses increasingly understand the need to monitor and participate in a legislative and regulatory process since policy decisions can greatly affect the bottom line not only is it important to be aware of development to participate but actions necessary to affect change laws are actions passed by congress and state legislatures regulations reflect how laws will be implemented and often have the force of law regulatory agencies may issue guidelines that interpret how these laws will be enforced lobbying is a form of advocacy with the intent of influencing legislators and officials whether through other legislators constituents or organized group the intent is to convince lawmakers to vote in a way that will benefit your business hr professionals are expected to actively participate in the transformation of state and federal laws the legislative process hr managers need to understand the relationship between laws agencies regulations and court decisions propose legislation know what is happening in the legislative process informing legislators legislators are generally interested in information that comes from credible and informed sources protesting laws and agency regulations when laws or agency regulations create unfair or intolerable conditions help to oppose them through some form of active or passive resistance [Music] in this video i'll share foundational united states federal employment legislation prior to 1990. these five acts shown in the boxes are listed from earliest to most recent they'll be covered in summary format indicating who they apply to the provisions and compliance requirements the website where the act can be found is listed the equal pay act epa of 1963 was the first anti-discrimination act to protect women and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex prior to the act the comparable worth standard was used by united states federal government to make compensation decisions when congress passed the act it deliberately rejected the comparable work standard in favor of the equal pay standard jobs are considered equal if they require equal skill effort and responsibility and if they are performed under similar working conditions equal pay however does not mean the same as comparable worth although two jobs may require similar levels of skill effort and responsibility and have comparable worth to the organization they do not have to be paid equally if they are different jobs or a different job categories the act applies to employers and employees who are covered by the fair labor standards act fsla and as administered and enforced by the equal employment opportunity commission eeoc the equal pay act provides four exceptions to the employer's obligations to pay male and female employees the same wages as shown in the table displayed the act allows for differences in pay when they are based on a bona fide seniority system wages and salaries are based on the length of service a merit pay system pay is determined by legitimate performance measures system a system that measures quantity or quality of production or a differential which is based on any factor other than gender that fairly measures factors other than sex the civil rights act of 1964 title vii is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement it was first proposed by president john f kennedy then survived a strong opposition from southern members of congress and was signed into law by kennedy's successor lyndon b johnson it prohibits discrimination in employment and applies to employers with 15 or more employees employment agencies labor organizations state and local governments and educational institutions it established the equal employment opportunity commission and outlines the procedures that the commission should follow to prevent unlawful employment practices the seventh amendment of the civil rights act of 1964 title vii outlines five major protected classes race color religion sex and national origin sex was a late addition to the original five as it was intended to keep women excluded but the act passed there are now also protections for physical and mental disability reprisal and most recently added sexual orientation it is unlawful to deny employment opportunities training or career advancement to protected classes or to an individual based on their association with someone in a protected class title vii allows for limited exceptions towards requirements these are shown on the table listed from left to right bona fide occupational qualification bfoq this occurs when religion sex or national origin is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of a business religious organizations they may give preference to members of that religion educational institutions these were not originally subject to title vii now included when curriculum propagates the protected class this is allowable work-related requirements this depends on the intent and impact not to discriminate take note national security clearance that is required for a position is not protected indian reservations they may give preference to indian applicants and employees living on or near the reservation bona fide seniority systems the use of tenure to allocate employment rights and not to discriminate is allowable affirmative action plans complying with affirmative action legislation to correct a past ingestment is permitted a deeper dive on bfoqs as they come up more often an employer who discriminates based on religion sex or national origin must demonstrate that the attribute is a bfoq necessary to the normal operations of their business the concept of business necessity has been narrowly defined by the courts when a practice is found to have a discriminatory effect it can be justified in one of three ways one it is necessary to the safe and efficient operation of the business two it effectively fulfills the purpose it's supposed to serve or three no alternative policies or practices would serve the same purpose with a less discriminatory impact race is never a bfoq the age discrimination and employment act adea is designed to protect employees who are 40 years of age and older from arbitrary and aged bias discrimination in hiring promotion training benefits compensation discipline and terminations employers are not even allowed to provide different health or medical benefits to older workers than younger workers nor can they stop making contributions to an employee's pension just because that employee has reached retirement age but chooses to continue working early retirement programs are allowed under ada but employers must be very careful to avoid using early retirement incentives as a means of forcing older workers to quit a review of relevant court cases indicates that employers facing age discrimination charges have very little reason to be optimistic since the court decisions have generally been decided against them employers who are charged with age discrimination basically have four legal justifications for the decisions one an employee is hired as a firefighter or police officer by state or local government two the employee is a top executive or policy maker three the employer has a genuine seniority or benefit plan or four the employee is discharged or disciplined for just cause age can be a bfoq if necessary for the normal operation of the business early retirement programs are convenient way for an employer to achieve a satisfactory reduction in force but they must not violate the age discrimination and employment act here are some guidelines incentive the employer should offer an incentive that's fair and that will attract employees eligibility requirements the employer should provide clear and rational requirements for employees to become eligible employee acceptance participation must be knowing and willingly and voluntary by the employees erisa coordination employees should receive a summary plan description for the benefits they will be offered the equal employment opportunity act of 1972 prohibits employment discrimination the act extended coverage to title vii to entities that had been excluded in 1964. this includes educational institutions state and local governments and the federal government in addition it reduced the number of employees needed to subject an employer to coverage by title 7 from 25 to 15 and required employers to keep records of the discovery of any unlawful employment practices and provide those records to the equal employment opportunity commission eeoc upon request the act also provides protection from retaliatory employment actions against whistleblowers it provides litigation authority by the eeoc in the event that an acceptable conciliation agreement cannot be reached in the case of public employment the eeoc refers to matters the united states attorney general to bring the lawsuit protected classes are how federal law conceptualizes protections against discrimination the understanding of classes continue to evolve either incrementally through the courts or through federal legislation societal responses to new issues of discrimination generally start the process the eoc protected classes shown on this pictorial view includes the groups from title vii with additions for veteran status genetic information and sexual identity the equal employment opportunity commission eeoc is the first step in enforcing title vii for employees wanting to pursue a discrimination claim the equal employment opportunity commission act provides administrative guidance for processing of complaints by the agency which is depicted in the process flow starting at the top center box and moving down an employee may file one or more discriminatory charges and the agency does a procedural review and may deny all or part of it within a 30-day window to appeal if the agency moves forward the employer is notified of the charge or charges and then has the opportunity to respond which should be taken seriously and responded to immediately the employer should in no way interfere with the rights of the employee or employees pursuing the charge the agency has 180 days from the day of filing to determine reasonable cause of the charge with the basic of three possible outcomes on the left option one is the eeoc finds reasonable cause the agency is empowered to sue non-governmental entities including employers unions and employment agencies in the event an acceptable conciliation agreement could not be reached within 30 days of notice to the employer the agency can offer to settle the complaint with all parties which will be bound if they choose this option and the claim will be settled the employee also has the option to ask for a hearing which transfers the claim to be handled by the eoc administrative judge another option is to request a right to sue letter to pursue a lawsuit in the federal district court within 90 days the investigation may be extended by another 180 days if new charges are added to the complaint or of new complaints that must be added to the original complaint for investigation the employee can also agree to an extension of up to 90 days in the center option two the eeoc does not decide if more than 180 days has passed since receiving the employee's charge and the agency has not finished its investigation the employee can wait for the agency to complete his investigation ask for a hearing which transfers the claim to be handled by the eoc administrative judge or request a right to sue letter to pursue a lawsuit in federal district court within 90 days on the right option 3 the eeoc finds no reasonable cause when the investigation is finished the agency notifies both parties employee is notified of the right to pursue a lawsuit in federal district court within 90 days remedies available to the employee whose discriminated gains in violation of title vii includes back pay compensatory damages and punitive damages title vii sets caps on the amount of compensatory and punitive damages which vary by the size of employer congress amended title vii of the civil rights act of 1964 with the pregnancy discrimination act of 1978 to define pregnancy as protected within the definition of sex for the purpose to clarify that discrimination against women on the basis of pregnancy childbirth or any related medical condition is an unlawful employment practice it defines pregnancy as a temporary disability and requires accommodation on the job if it is necessary it guarantees the employee rights to return to work to the same or similar job with the same pay following her pregnancy disability [Music] in this video i'll review the foundational united states federal legislation after 1990. these six acts shown in the boxes are listed from earliest to most recent they'll be covered in summary format indicating who they apply to the provisions and compliance requirements the website where the full act can be found is provided the americans with disability act ada of 1990 was first proposed in 1988 and it was backed by thousands of individuals around the country who'd been fighting for rights for their family members friends and co-workers to have equal access to community services jobs trainings and promotions the act was finally signed into law by president george h.w bush on july 26 1990 and became fully effective for all employers with 15 or more workers on july the 26 1992 prior to this legislation the only employees who were protected against disability employment discrimination were the ones working for the federal state or local government and federal government contractors who were captured by the rehabilitation act this act covers employers with 15 or more workers on the payroll and may not discriminate against a physically or mentally disabled individual in their recruitment hiring promotions training pay social activities or other privileges of employment qualified individuals with a disability are to be treated as any other job applicant or employee if a job accommodation is required for a qualified individual to perform the assigned or essential job function the employer is required to provide that accommodation or recommend an alternative that would be equally effective the interactive process between the employer and the employee should result in an accommodation or an explanation as to why making the accommodation would provide an undue hardship on the employer enforced by the equal employment opportunity commission it provides guidelines to encourage employers and individuals to work together to determine what are the appropriate and reasonable accommodations rather than the employer alone making that judgment job accommodations are situationally dependent adjustments to a job or work environment that makes it possible for an individual with a disability to perform their job duties the table displayed identifies the key considerations disability employees are required to consider it as disabled anyone with a condition that substantially limits but does not significantly restrict a major life activity even though the limitation might be reduced or eliminated with medication or other alleviations the treatment may not be considered when determined limitations this qualifies employees who use shoe inserts to correct back problems or who take prescription sleeping pills or those who are allergic to peanuts or bee stings may now be classified as disabled however there may be no requests for a job accommodation essential functions an essential function is defined as a portion of a job assignment that cannot be removed from the job without significantly changing the nature of that job in the job analysis these are the duties listed first and when possible given the percentage of time performed as it indicates the special qualifications skills or abilities to perform that function accommodation requests there must be a request for accommodation from the employee to provide that accommodation before any action is required by the employer it's perfectly acceptable for an employer to request support and documentation from medical experts to identify the disability they might even be recommendations for specific accommodations including those requested by the employee reasonable accommodation the ada requires covered entities to make reasonable accommodation to develop employment opportunities for qualified persons with disabilities in two areas facilities should be accessible to persons with disabilities and the position requirements may be adjusted to accommodate qualified persons with a disability the act identifies the factors to be considered in determining whether an accommodation is an undue hardship by looking at the cost financial resources of the organization the size of the organization and other similar factors to curtail the impacts of the 1980s staff reduction programs imposed primarily by large employers congress took action to prevent such treatment based on age when it passed the law of the older workers benefit protection act of 1990. the act prohibits an employer from using an employee's age as a basis for discrimination in benefits targeting older workers join staff reductions or downsizing and requiring older workers to waive their rights without the opportunity for review with a legal advisor the act has a mandate for employers to use specific words and safeguards intended to protect older workers to make sure that they are not convinced to sign a waiver without fully understanding it the employee has 21 days to consider that agreement and consult an attorney if it's a group termination 45 days is allowed once a waiver is signed an employee has legally agreed to give up their right to serve a lawsuit on the employer based on age discrimination or any perceived wrongdoing employees will have seven days to revoke this agreement after its sign in exchange for signing this waiver an employer will often provide some sort of benefit to the employee that isn't usually offered like increased severance pay the civil rights act of 1991 was passed into law by congress on november the 21st 1991 and was the most complete civil rights legislation since the civil rights act of 1964. it ensued two years of debate to prohibit discrimination for job applicants and workers based on race gender religion color or ethnic characteristics however the act did not apply its rules to businesses with less than 15 employees nor did it address employment discrimination based on sexual orientation following the 1989 supreme court ruling that diminished workers ability to sue employers for discriminatory reasons the 1991 act strengthened the 1964 law particularly in the terms of liability of employers and the burden of proof and added new legislation it modified some basic procedural and substantive rights under federal laws in the area of employment discrimination it offered a trial by jury option and discrimination cases it also presented the first opportunity to collect emotional distress damages and limited how much juries could pay out the civil rights act of 1991 was enacted to provide suitable solutions for purposeful discrimination and illegal employment harassment it categorized the terms job-related and business necessity which was articulated in the supreme court in greeks versus duke power of 1971 a landmark case and at the decisions before ward's cove packing company versus antonio in 1989. these amendments affected title vii the age discrimination and employment act and the americans with disabilities act the civil rights act of 1991 placed a limitation on the punitive damage awards by using a sliding scale depending on the size of the employer organization using payroll head count as shown on the table for employers with more than 500 employees damages are capped at 500 000 for employers with 201 to 500 employees damages are capped at two hundred thousand dollars for employers with one hundred to two hundred employees damages are capped at one hundred thousand dollars for employers with fifteen to one hundred employees damages are capped at fifty thousand dollars when the eeoc pursues a multi-person claim the damage caps are applied to each person in the claim president bill clinton signed the family and medical leave act fmla of 1993 which was created to assist employees in balancing their needs of families with the demands of their jobs in addition to protecting employees from adverse employment actions and retaliation when they request leave under fmla the act provides three benefits for eligible employees covered in organizations 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period 26 months for military caregiver leave continuation of health benefits and reinstatement to the same position or equivalent position at the end of the leave the act applies to all public agencies and schools regardless of their size and private employers with 50 or more employees working within a 75-mile radius both employer and employees have eligibility requirements employees or the secretary of labor can bring enforcement action this act is very involved with very specific requirements so well worth reading more details on how it applies on september 25th 2008 president george w bush signed the americans with disability act amendment act of 2008 which took effect on january the 1st 2009 ing to the language in the amendment congress took the action to clarify the intention of the original legislation which was to make the definition of disability consistent with the way the courts had defined the term under the rehabilitation act of 1973. the act emphasized that the definition of disability should be construed in favor of a broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the american with disabilities act ada and generally should not require extensive analysis the act makes important changes to the definition of the term disability by rejecting the holding in the several supreme court decisions and portions of the eeoc's ada regulations the effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under ada to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ada context the court interpretations under the ada had narrowed the broad scope of protection originally intended and the amendment more clearly describes the intent of congress and its rules of construction this table shows a summary of the nine rules into six categories substantially limits this rule underscores the amendments act expansion of the definition of disability and expansion of persons now covered under the ada due to the elimination of extensive mitigating measure court case history expanded impairments covered an impairment does not prevent or severely or significantly restrict performance of major life activity to be considered substantially limited not every impairment will be a disability but the list is broader and emphasizes the change that impairments have to permeate work and life activities disability determination primary focus should be on a person's qualifications or a job needed for reasonable accommodation or the discrimination occurred extensive analysis should not be required individualized assessments this is still a requirement but substantial limits is a lower standard than pre-amendment act it is important for employers to realize that although on a case-by-case inquiry an analysis is relaxed it has not been eliminated and it is still a mandatory phase of a disability determination and reasonable accommodation analysis mitigating measures congress directs the except for ordinary glasses or contact lenses mitigating measures such as medication prosthetics hearing aids mobile devices and others may not be used to define disability this clearly underscores that the entire 19-year history of court cases establishing mitigating measures was overturned by the amendment act episodic remissions and impairments many conditions were controlled under the application of mitigating measures now such conditions can be considered as evidence of the presence of a disability the lilly-lid better fair pair act of 2009 was the first piece of legislation signed by president barack obama after he was inaugurated as the 44th president of the united states it was passed in reaction to the u.s supreme court's decision in the ledbetter versus goodyear tire and rubber company in 2007. the law amends the civil rights act of 1964 and states that the clock will reset each time an illegal act of discrimination is experienced by an employee in lilly ledbetter's situation her pay was less than that of men doing the same job the old law didn't permit her to succeed her complaint of discrimination because she failed to file 20 years earlier on the first occasion of receiving a check for less than her male counterparts under the new law the 180-day statute of limitations for filing the equal pay lawsuit regarded pay discrimination resets each new paycheck affected by that discriminatory action it will be wise for employers to be proactive and identify and correct any potential discriminatory pay practices [Music] in this video i'll review the foundational key legislation that impacts employment these four acts shown in the boxes are listed from earliest to most recent they'll be covered in summary format indicating who they apply to the provisions and the compliance requirements the website where the full act can be found is provided the national labor relations act nlra of 1935 or the wagner act was passed as part of the president franklin roosevelt's new deal and is touted as the granddaddy of all labor relations laws in the united states at the time it was referred to as a laborers bill of rights and represented a landmark change in the government's attitude towards unions the act allowed for employees to organize bargain collectively and engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection the right to engage in concerted activities applies not only to union employees but to non-union employees as well the act went on to identify five unfair employer labor practices and created the national labor relations board nlrb to enforce provisions on the act the nlrb is also charged with conducting elections and preventing and remedying unfair labor practices the nlrb doesn't investigate actions on its own it responds to charges on unfair labor practices or petitions for representation elections filed in one of its offices the national labor relations act nlra is sometimes called the wagner act after its writer democratic senator robert f wagner some key provisions are mapped to the four sections shown in the table section 7 writes this applies to all employees and it gives them the right to organize join unions and engage in the collective bargaining and other concerted activities when they meet the protection standards social media posting is just one of the things employers may not realize are covered by the act many companies have rules that ban employees from discussing their salaries and the nlrb has held that employees have a right to discuss their pay and work conditions so enforcing a no discussion policy could violate section seven likewise forbidding em