PROFESSIONAL IN HUMAN RESOURCES - CALIFORNIA (PHR-CA) OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION | HRCI PROCTORED CREDENTIAL ASSESSMENT WITH EXPERT SOLUTIONS 2025-2026

Accident

Unplanned sequence of events that results in undesirable consequences

Alternative workweek

Any regularly scheduled workweek requiring an employee to work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period

Adverse employment action

Employment action (such as termination, demotion, etc.) that either materially affects the terms and conditions of employment or would deter an individual from engaging in a protected activity; required part of a retaliation claim

Adverse action notice

Documentation that an employer must provide to an applicant or employee whenever the employer makes an employment decision based on information obtained through a background check

American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM)

Publishes Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines that are used in most cases to decide type and amount of treatment approved for work injury or illness

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Federal law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities

Antipiracy agreement

Agreement by one party not to recruit employees of another party, typically limited to a specific time period

Apportionment

Way of figuring out how much of a permanent disability is due to the work injury and how much is due to other disabilities

Assembly Bill (AB) 1825

Requires sexual harassment training every two years for supervisors employed by employers covered by the statute (generally, all state entities as well as all employers receiving the services of 50 or more persons)

Avoidable consequences doctrine

Principal under which a complaining party's damages in a harassment lawsuit may exclude any damages that the party might have avoided if he or she had earlier reported possible harassment under an appropriate company policy; available only when the company has taken appropriate proactive steps to prevent workplace harassment

Bonus

Money promised to an employee in addition to the monthly salary, hourly wage, commission, or piece rate due as compensation; usually based on performance

Cal/OSHA

California's occupational safety and health program

Cal WARN Act

Requires a covered employer to give a particular kind of written notice 60 days in advance of certain notice-triggering events (mass layoffs, relocations, or termination)

California Code of Regulations (C.C.R.)

Contains the regulations of approximately 200 state regulatory agencies; regulations have been formally adopted by state agencies; reviewed and approved by the Office of Administrative Law, and filed with the Secretary of State

California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CCMIA)

State law that imposes restrictions on the use, disclosure, and storage of private medical information, including steps required to safeguard such information from theft or other inappropriate access

California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA)

Agency that serves as lead in California for emergency management

California Family Rights Act (CFRA)

Provides unpaid job-protected time off and continuation of benefits for eligible employees with a serious health condition or who need to care for certain family members

California Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

Law that requires Web sites seeking information from visitors, such as online employment application, to post a privacy policy meeting certain requirements

California Privacy Act (CPA)

Law that addresses privacy on telephones and other electronic equipment

Causal link

Link that an employee complaining of retaliation must prove to show that the employer took an adverse employment action against the employee because of a protected activity

Change-of-status notice

Notice employers must provide when employees are terminated, discharged, laid off, or placed on leave of absense

Child

Biological, adopted, or foster son or daughter, stepson or stepdaughter, legal ward, or child of an employee who stands in loco parentis to that child, who is either under 18 years of age or an adult dependent child

Claims administrator

Term for insurance companies and others that handle workers' compensation; also called claims examiner or claims adjuster

Collective bargaining agreement

Agreement negotiated between a labor union and an organization that sets forth the terms of employment for the employees who are subject to the agreement; may include provisions regarding wages, vacation time, working hours, working conditions, and health insurance benefits

Commission

Compensation paid to any person for services rendered in the sale of the organization's property or services and based upon the amount or value thereof

Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC)

Joint labor-management body that oversees the health and safety and workers' compensation systems in California

Conditional offer of employment

Offer of employment that will not be withdrawn so long as specified conditions are satisfied, such as passing a background check or medical examination

Constructive discharge

Theory under which a court will permit an employee who actually quit to nonetheless bring a legal claim as though the employer had terminated the employment, if the circumstances under which the employee quit were so intolerable that any reasonable person in the same circumstances would have felt compelled to quit

Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA)

State law that imposes requirements employers must follow when they seek credit information about an employee or applicant during a background check by accessing public records

Crime victim

Person who has been the victim of a violent felony, a serious felony, or a felony provision of the law proscribing theft or embezzlement

Cumulative trauma disorder (CTD)

Disorder that is caused by repeated events or repeated exposures at work, for example, wrist injury caused by performing the same motion over and over or a loss of hearing caused by constant loud noise

Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)

California government agency responsible for administering the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), including investigation of complaints and issuing right-to-sue letters and/or prosecuting possible violations

Department of Insurance

California government agency that licenses and regulates workers' compensation insurance carriers and investigates allegations of workers' compensation fraud

Deterrence test

One of two tests to determine whether an adverse employment action has occurred for retaliation purposes; asks whether the employment action taken would deter a reasonable employee from engaging in the protected activity in which the employee engaged

Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)

California state agency that adjudicates wage claims, investigates discrimination and public works complaints, and enforces Labor Code statutes and IWC Wage Orders

Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)

California state agency that enforces Cal/OSHA safety and health standards

Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC)

California state agency that administers workers' compensation

Domestic partners

Two adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring

Drug-Free Workplace Act

Statute requiring organizations to certify that they provide a drug-free workplace or will do so prior to being awards state contracts or grants regarding drug-free workplaces

Duplicate training

Process permitted for organizations to recognize and credit AB 1825 training provided to a new supervisory employee by a previous or different employer of that employee

Emergency rescue personnel

Any officer, employee, or member of a fire department or fire protection or firefighting agency of the federal government, the state of California, a city, county, district, or other public or municipal corporation or political subdivision of this state, or of a sheriff's department, police department, or private fire department, whether that person is a volunteer or partly paid or fully paid

E-monitoring

Electronic monitoring or surveillance in the workplace

Employee (for Cal-WARN)

Person employed by an employer for at lease six of the 12 months preceding the date on which notice is required under Cal WARN

Employee (for UI and EDD reporting)

Any individual or person performing services for wages or under any employment-related contract for hire; if an employer has the right to exercise control over the manner and materials for performance of services by an individual, the individual is most often considered an employee and an employer-employee relationship exists

Employer (for Cal/OSHA)

Any person or corporation, the state and every state agency, every county or city and district and public agency therein, which has any person engaged in or permitted to work for hire, except certain household services in private homes

Employer (for Cal WARN)

Any person or entity owning and operating a covered establishment

Employer (for unemployment insurance)

Any employing unit, which for some portion of the day, has within the current calendar year or had within the preceding calendar year in employment one or more employees and which pays wages for employment in excess of $100 during any calendar quarter

Employer-employee relationship

Relationship that exists when a person who hires an individual to perform services has the right to exercise control over the manner and means by which the individual performs his or her services

Employment Development Department (EDD)

California government agency that supports state activities and benefit programs by collecting and administering employment-related taxes such as employer-financed unemployment insurance; also provides other services to employers and employees

Employment-at-will doctrine

Reflects public policy favoring the free mobility of labor by specifying that either party to an employment relationship may end that relationship with or without cause or notice unless the parties have entered into a contract to change that status

E-policy

Employer's policy regarding a wide range of issues involving the use of company-provided technologies, such as computers, telephones, etc.

Ergonomics

Study of how to improve the fit between the physical demands of the workplace and the employees who perform the work

Essential job functions

Duties crucial to a job such that the position exists to perform the job function

Exempt

Job classification in which the employee is not eligible for overtime payments

Express contract

Contract formed when two or more parties manifest mutual intent to be bound by the terms of an agreement between them

Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

State law that protects employees from discrimination and/or harassment because of their protected status or characteristic and from retaliation for making a complaint or otherwise opposing conduct that would violate the FEHA

Family and Medical LEave Act (FMLA)

Federal law that provides certain employees with serious health problems or who need to care for a child or other family member with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year

Garnishment

Court-mandated deduction from an employee's paycheck for child or spousal support, tax lien, etc.

General Industry Safety Orders (GISOs)

Safety Orders under Cal/OSHA

Gratuity

Any tip given to of left for an employee by a patron of a business over and above the actual amount due to the business for services rendered

Hazard

Source or danger; material, energy source, or operation with the potential to cause illness, injury, or death to a person or damage to a facility or to the environment

Hazardous substance

Explosive, flammable, poisonous, corrosive, oxidizing, irritating, or otherwise harmful substance that can cause injury or illness

Health-care organization (HCO)

Organization certified by the Department of Industrial Relations to provide managed medical care within the workers' compensation system

Health-care provider

Individual holding either a physician's or surgeon's certificate or any other individual duly licensed as a physician, surgeon, or osteopathic physical or surgeon in another state or jurisdiction who directly treats or supervises the treatment of a serious health condition

Heat illness

Physical condition that results from the body keeping in more heat than it loses, causing the body temperature to rise

Imminent danger

Hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm immediately

Impairment rating

Percentage estimate of how much normal use of an injured body part is lost

Implied contract

Oral or written representations to employees regarding job security or other matters that may, in some circumstances, create an implied agreement of employment for some term or for continued absent cause for termination

In loco parentis

In the place of a parent, charged with a parent's rights, duties, and responsibilities; does not require a biological or legal relationship

Independent contractor (IC) (for UI and EDD reporting)

Individual who is not an employee of the service-recipient and who receives compensation or executes a contract for services performed for that service-recipient; any person who renders service for a specified recompense for a specified result, under the control of the principal as to the result of his or her work only and not as to the means by which such result is accomplished

Independently wrongful act

Act proscribed by constitutional, statutory, regulatory, common law, or other determinable legal standard that organizations must avoid when hiring from a competitor

Individual tracking

Mode of tracking AB 1825 training that involves tracking the training date of each trainee separately in order to ensure that retraining occurs no more than two years later

Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC)

Unit of California Department of Industrial Relations that is responsible for setting wages, hours of work, and working conditions of California employees

Injury and illness prevention program (IIPP)

Health and safety program employers are required to develop and implement

Interactive process

Duty an organization has to engage in a good-faith exchange of information and exploration of options with an employee (or applicant) who has a disability to determine the existence and reasonableness of any accommodation that might be available to permit the employee or applicant to perform the essential functions of the job

Invention assignment agreement

Agreement under which an employee agrees to assign to the organization any and all rights the employee may have in inventions and ideas that the employee generates through the employment with the organization

Investigative and Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA)

California law that imposes requirements employers must follow when using an outside agency to perform a background check

Job analysis

Systematic method used in obtaining a detailed listing of the tasks of a specific job

Labor

Labor, work, or service, whether rendered or performed under contract, subcontract, partnership, station plan, or other agreement, if the labor to be paid for is performed personally by the person demanding payment

Layoff (for Cal WARN)

Separation from a position for lack of funds or lack of work

Lien

Right or claim for payment

Mandatory arbitration

Arbitration of employment disputes that is required by an arbitration agreement that the employer requires new hires and/or existing employees to sign as a condition of employment or continuing employment

Mass layoff (for Cal WARN)

Layoff of 50 or more employees at a covered establishment

Material safety data sheets (MSDSs)

Mandatory detailed information sheets provided by a chemical manufacturer that indicate possible hazards to humans resulting from the use of or exposure to a material

Materiality test

One of two tests to determine whether an adverse employment action has occurred for retaliation purposes; asks whether the employment action taken was sufficiently material to affect a term or condition of the employee's employment

Medical provider network (MPN)

Group of health-care providers set up by an insurer or self-insured employer and approved by Division of Workers' Compensation's Administrative Director to treat workers injured on the job

Minimum threshold

Important concept that AB 1825 secual harassment training is only a minimum and that by itself does not protect an employer from liability for harassment

Minimum wage

Minimum hourly wage an organization is required to pay by law

Minor

For most purposes in the employment of minors, a minor means any person under the age of 18 years who is required to attend school under the provisions of the Education Code

Misappropriation

Acquisition of a trade secret by improper means or the disclosure or use of a trade secret by someone who acquired the trade secret by improper means

Modified work

Existing position of an injured worker with some changes that allow him or her to perform the job

Negligent hiring

Legal claim against an employer by person injured by the conduct of an employee who the employer knew or had reason to know was unfit for the job or if the employer failed to use reasonable care to discover whether the employee was fit for the job

Noncompetition agreement

Agreement by one party not to compete with the business of another party, typically limited to a specific time after the employment ends and/or a specific geographic area

Nondisclosure agreement

Agreement by one party not to use or disclose defined confidential information belonging to another party, sometimes limited to a specific time period

Nonexempt

Job classification in which the employee is eligible for overtime payments

Nonsolicitation agreement

Agreement by one party not to solicit the business or specified customers of the other party, typically limited to a specific time period

Older Worker's benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)

Federal law with many provisions affecting workers aged 40 years or more

Paid family leave (PFL)

California program providing wage replacement benefits to eligible employees for time off due to seriously ill family members or to bond with a new child, administered by Employment Development Department

Parent

Biological, foster, or adoptive parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child

Permanent and stationary

Condition when an employee's medical condition has reached maximum medical improvement