HR Quiz

TEST YOUR HR KNOWLEDGE

1. As a California employer, you are required to give at least two weeks of paid vacation to each employee every year.

False. There is no California or federal law which rquires employers to grant employees paid vacation. However, 97% of California businesses offer paid vacation as a benefit to their employees, so even though it’s not a legal requirement, it certainly helps yoru company to be competitive when recruiting and retaining staff. For ideas about creating or restructuring your vacation plan, contact us about a Benefits Review.

2. I run a small company with just a few employees, so I don’t need a policy manual.

False. Even if you have only a few employees, it’s in your best interests to document your employment policies in writing. By putting your policies in writing and distributing it to employees, you are prepared to deal with all but the most unusual employment situations. A well-written policy manual enables you to treat all of your employees equally and equitably, and can help protect your company from unfair employment practice claims. To make sure you’re prepared, please contact us for help with creating or revising an employee policy manual.

3. California requires that all managers in companies with 50 or more employees receive sexual harassment training.

True. Beginning in 2005, the state requires that all employees with supervisory responsibilities take two hours of sexual harassment prevention training every two years. While harassment training currently is not required for non-supervisory employees, it’s a good idea to provide it to reduce the likelihood of it occurring at your company. To arrange for training, or for other ideas about harassment prevention, please contact us about Training and Development.

4. An employee’s medical information (such as a doctor’s note for an illness-related absence) should be maintained in a separate file from the employee’s other information.

True. A variety of laws, most importantly the Health Information Privacy and Protection Act (HIPPA), require that medical information be kept in a file of its own, rather than with the employee’s general file. For more information about maintaining employee files, please contact us about Records Maintenance and Retention.

5. We’re a small company and can’t afford to offer benefits.

False. Even very small companies with limited budgets can provide a variety of benefits, including health care, to their employees. For ideas about how to offer benefits your employees will value without breaking your budget, please contact us for a Benefits Review.

6. As a small business, having lots of processes would just gum things up and we’d never get anything done.

False. While it’s true that a company of five employees doesn’t need the same structure required at a 100 person company, every company needs to establish processes to keep the work flowing smoothly, and to revise those processes as the company’s needs change. If you feel your company could use some structure, and don’t want to create bureaucracy, please contact us for a Process Analysis.