Chapter 12 HR Management
Which of the following is the correct definition of a serious health condition?
An illness or injury that requires inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider for medical problems that exist beyond three days
Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding workers' compensation?
An injured worker cannot receive workers' compensation benefits if the injury was the worker's fault.
Which of the following types of leaves of absence is NOT required by federal or state laws?
Bereavement leave
Which of the following is NOT a guideline regarding Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) administration?
Days off must be consecutive.
Which of the following is a voluntary benefit and provides continuing income for workers who become disabled and are unable to work?
Disability insurance
Which of the following is NOT a guideline regarding Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) administration?
Employees on leave must be able to return to a job, which may be a different job of lower status and pay.
Which of the following statements regarding severance payments is NOT accurate?
Employers must give the same severance package to all employees regardless of position or years of service.
_____ means that workers' compensation benefits are the only benefits injured workers may receive from the employer to compensate for work-related injuries.
Exclusive remedy
Which of the following situations would NOT qualify for a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
Handling the affairs of a military family member who has lost his or her job
Which of the following statements regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is NOT true?
It allows eligible employees to take a maximum of six weeks of paid leave.
Which of the following statements is true about a retirement plan?
It is a program established and funded by the employer and/or employees to fund employees' retirement years.
Which of the following is a legally required benefit?
Medicare
Identify a true statement about benefits.
Most benefits are not taxed as income to employees.
Which of the following statements regarding taxes and benefits is NOT true?
Most benefits are not taxed as income to employees.
Which of the following is NOT a qualifying event that would cause a covered employee or a covered family member to lose group health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985?
Reduction in wages
In the context of employee benefits, which of the following benefits is a part-time employee more likely to receive?
Retirement plan benefits
Which of the following is a voluntary benefit offered to employees by employers?
Severance pay
Which of the following statements about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is NOT accurate?
The purpose of this law is to ensure equal treatment for older workers in early retirement or severance situations.
Which of the following statements regarding paid holidays is NOT true?
U.S. employers commonly offer more paid holidays than those in many other countries.
Which of the following statements regarding leaves of absence is NOT true?
Unpaid leaves of absence do not add to employer costs.
Which of the following approaches should companies use to improve employee participation in 401(k) plans?
Using automatic enrollment and increases to get employees to participate
Which of the following is NOT a key decision to be made as part of benefits design?
What benefits should be promoted to employees as valuable?
Even though paternity leave is available to male workers under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), _____.
a relatively low percentage of men take it
A revision made to the Family and Medical Care Act (FMLA) in 2009:
allows families of injured active military servicemembers to take caregiving leave for up to 26 weeks to assist servicemembers who were injured on active duty.
Many employers have found paid-time-off (PTO) plans to _____ reducing absenteeism, scheduling time off, and assisting with recruiting and retention.
be more effective than other means of
A _____ sponsored by an employer provides savings, checking, lending, and other financial services for employees.
credit union
A _____ is the money paid by an insured individual before his or her health plan pays for medical expenses.
deductible
The cost of Social Security is funded through a tax on _____.
employees' wages or salaries
Since 1980, all of the following are considered the legs of the three-legged stool of retirement income EXCEPT:
employer-funded pension plan/defined benefit.
A(n) _____ allows employees to select the benefits they prefer from options established by the employer.
flexible benefits plan
The purpose of stock purchase plans is to:
increase employee loyalty to an organization and interest in its success.
One of the several legally required benefits is _____.
medical plans
For the typical U.S. employer, the average cost of benefits often averages at least _____ of payroll expenses.
one-third
In highly unionized U.S. manufacturing and utility industries, the average cost of benefits may represent _____ of payroll expenses.
over half
A retirement plan feature that allows employees to move their retirement benefits from one employer to another is called:
portability.
To overcome the problem of some employees choosing inappropriate options from flex plans, employers can require employees to:
select a core set of benefits and then offer options on other benefits.
Starting in 2018, earnings over the amount of _____ are not subject to Social Security tax.
$128,400
A(n) _____ allows for a percentage of an employee's pay to be withheld and invested in a tax-deferred account.
401(k) plan
Which of the following statements regarding benefit costs is NOT true?
A common means of benefit cost control is instituting low-deductible plans.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to take a maximum of _____ weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during any _____-month period.
12; 12
The normal retirement age to receive maximum Social Security benefits has been steadily increased from:
65 to 67.
According to a 1986 amendment to the _____, most employees cannot be forced to retire at a specific age.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Which of the following benefits is voluntary?
Dental care
The _____ was enacted in 1974 to ensure that private pension plans meet minimum standards.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
Which of the following statements regarding a defined contribution pension plan is true?
It is a retirement program in which the employer and/or employee makes payments to fund an employee's retirement account.
_____ is technology that allows employees to enroll in and change their benefit choices, track their benefit balances, and submit questions to HR staff members and external benefit providers.
Self-service
In the context of benefits administration, which of the following statements is NOT true of self-service?
Self-service is designed so that HR assistance is not required by employees.
Which of the following statements regarding employee-paid group benefits is NOT true?
The cost for benefits purchased through payroll deductions is typically more than if the employee purchased them on his or her own.
In the context of employee benefits, which of the following is true of Millennial employees?
They place high value on in-person interactions regarding their employee benefits.
Which of the following statements regarding public-sector benefits is NOT accurate?
Workers in the public sector have for many years received less generous benefits than those in the private sector.
_____ refers to security benefits provided to workers who are injured on the job.
Workers' compensation
A _____ is a health plan that provides employer financial contributions to employees to help cover their health-related expenses.
consumer-driven health plan
Programs to help employees deal with child-care and elder-care issues include all of the following EXCEPT:
employer-sponsored health care insurance for nannies.
Relocation benefits offered by employers may include all of the following EXCEPT:
financial planning services.
Which of the following is a voluntary financial benefit that allows employees to purchase insurance to cover costs for long-term health care in an assisted-living facility?
Long-term care insurance
Employees in most organizations can change their participation level in various benefit plans and switch between benefit options:
once per year during open enrollment.
Which of the following is true of benefits administration and communication?
Benefit communication and employees' satisfaction with benefits are most definitely linked.
Which of the following statements regarding a defined benefit pension plan is true?
It is a retirement program in which employees are promised a pension amount based on age and years of service.
Which of the following provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is NOT true?
It requires companies with 25 or more employees who work 35 hours a week or more to provide health care coverage or pay a penalty.
Which of the following statements related to the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) is NOT accurate?
It requires older workers to have the option of phased retirement and the benefit of outplacement assistance services.
_____ emphasize primary and preventive care, the use of specific providers that charge lower prices, restrictions on certain kinds of treatment, and prices negotiated with hospitals and physicians.
Managed care plans
_____ was enacted in 1990 as an amendment to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to address issues related to early retirement and severance situations.
The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act
A company with 25 employees who work 30 hours a week opts to not provide health coverage to its employees. It also plans to hire more part-time staff to avoid providing health insurance coverage to its employees. Which of the following is NOT a possible consequence of this decision?
The company will have to pay a heavy annual fine of $2,320 per employee.
The term _____ refers to a situation in which only higher-risk employees opt for and use certain benefits.
adverse selection
In the context of employee benefits, one significant trend is the outsourcing of benefits administration to _____, who are vendors that provide enrollment, recordkeeping, and other administrative services to organizations.
third-party administrators
Which of the following is NOT true about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)?
It requires employers who fail to provide adequate health coverage to pay an annual penalty of $1,000 per employee beyond the first 30 full-time workers.
Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding Medicare?
Like the taxes paid for Social Security, there is an earnings limit on Medicare contributions.
_____ combine all sick leave, vacation time, and holidays into a total number of hours or days that employees can take off with pay.
Paid-time-off (PTO) plans
_____ allows employees to bridge between working full time and retiring full time while offering the employees' organization a chance to retain important knowledge and skills.
Phased retirement
Employers offering health care benefits are taking several approaches to control and reduce costs, which include all of the following EXCEPT:
covering spouses and other family members.
Which of the following is a strategy that employers can use to control health care benefit costs?
Limiting family coverage
Which of the following statements is true of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988?
It requires employers to give 60 days' notice of mass layoff or plant closings.
Which of the following statements is true of benefits?
They are tangible indirect rewards provided to an employee or group of employees for organizational membership.
A right commonly associated with retirement plans is _____, which means that once an employee has worked for a required number of years, his or her pension rights and the amounts contributed by both the employer and the employee cannot be taken away.
vesting