HRMN 5470 Final
Which of the following is NOT one of the categories of legally required benefits?
Defined retirement plans
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows an eligible employee up to ___________ weeks of leave during any 12-month period
12 unpaid
The typical percentage of total compensation awarded in equity plans for U.S. CEOs was approximately what percent?
50 percent
Executive compensation plans are said to be top heavy if the account balances for key employees exceed _________________
60 percent of the account balances for all employees
Which of the following BEST describes an executive?
A company leader who plays a major role in a company's policy decisions
Who benefits from discretionary benefits?
All stakeholders
Which of the following questions is LEAST relevant to ask when determining whether U.S. executives are overpaid?
Are the company's executives qualified?
Which of the following is a likely result of flexible work arrangements?
Balance the employees' demands of work and home
How are HMO and fee-for-service plans similar?
Both have out-of-pocket maximums and coinsurance
A professional consultant can create a conflict of interest when hired by a CEO to determine his or her compensation. In what way can a professional compensation consultant create this conflict?
By conducting an objective analysis of executive compensation of the CEO who hired them
How can employers involve employees in the benefits determination process?
By conducting employee interviews and focus groups
In the 1930s, how did unions influence businesses offering discretionary benefits to their employees?
By pushing for the National Labor Relations Act, which legitimized bargaining for benefits
A conflict of interest can occur between the CEO and the compensation committee when the ___________________
CEO hires an outside consultant to make recommendations to the compensation committee
Which act allows employees the opportunity to continue to receive employer-sponsored medical insurance after leaving the company?
COBRA
Which of the following plans is designed to best meet the needs of a diverse group of employees?
Cafeteria plans
__________________ plans use a set level of benefits for some discretionary benefits such as medical insurance, and then allow employees to choose from benefit options that suit their needs
Core plus option
What is a short term disadvantage of legally required benefits?
Employers must make substantial financial contributions
How can employers reduce the costs associated with required benefits?
Employers should try to reduce the chances of workers filing compensation claims
Which statement about hiring contingent workers is TRUE?
Employers with contingent workers save money in the areas of legally required benefits
Which of the following would be hired by a firm to recommend executive compensation packages based on strategic analyses?
Executive compensation consultants
Which of the following is a TRUE statement about executive compensation packages?
Executive compensation emphasizes long-term rewards and deferred compensation over short term rewards
Which statement about flexible work schedules is FALSE?
Flexible work schedules benefit morning employees but not evening employees
How do flexible work schedules help companies pursue the lowest-cost strategy?
Flexible work schedules boost productivity and lower absenteeism, which helps companies cut costs
Which of the following work arrangements is based on working around a common set of employee work hours?
Flextime
Which of the following employee benefits has most recently been mandated by the federal government?
Health insurance
Which statement about unions and the use of contingent workers is TRUE?
In general, unions oppose companies using contingent workers
How does the Internal Revenue Service view equipment that companies purchase for employees who telecommute?
It is nontaxable
Which of the following is TRUE of the pay of independent contractors and the companies that employ them?
It is possible that the status of contractors could change and they could be considered employees
Which of the following would help a company contain the cost of employee unemployment insurance?
Monitoring why employees are terminated and creating a plan to avoid terminations
The U.S. government uses which time frame basis for overtime pay?
Numbers of hours worked in a week
Which type of executive compensation does NOT need to be reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission?
Paid time off
Which federal legislation requires every American to have health insurance?
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Which of the following acts extended employees' rights in the area of defined contribution plans?
Pension Protection Act
Of the following, which is NOT considered one of the four groups of contingent workers?
Permanent employees
Which type of health insurance program combines the features of fee-for-service plans and HMO plans?
Point-of-service plans
Which of the following is NOT a stipulation in fee-for-service plans?
Restrictions on choice of health care providers
Total sales, stock price, and assets fall under which of the following corporate performance measures?
Size
All parties involved in employing or hosting contingent workers possess liability under federal and state laws. Of the following, which is NOT a liability under federal and state law?
Stock options and deferred compensation
Which of the following documents is intended to make executive compensation more transparent by showing core and deferred compensation?
Summary compensation table
In addition to cost control, how do contingent workers and flexible work schedules promote competitive advantages?
Supporting product innovation
Which alternative work arrangement causes some employees to feel isolated?
Telecommuting
What brought about the earliest social insurance programs?
The rapid growth of industrialization and the Great Depression
Which of the following is true regarding the comparison between U.S. and foreign executive compensation?
There is little disclosure or transparency of executive compensation in many other countries
Which of the following is true for HMOs and fee-for-service plans?
They both include pre-existing condition clauses
What is an advantage associated with offering discretionary benefits?
They can promote particular employs behaviors that have strategic value
Which of the main provisions of HIPAA has been eliminated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?
Those covering pre-existing conditions
If a company is in a very competitive labor market with a shortage of qualified workers living near the workplace, which of the following benefits would likely produce the most value for the company?
Transportation services
What programs did the Social Security Act establish?
Unemployment insurance and Old Age, Survivor, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)
Which of the following allows company shareholders to have a say in executive compensation proposals?
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Which of the following factors has led to increased offering of flexible benefit plans for employees?
Workforce diversity
The costs for discretionary benefits ____________________
accounted for nearly 25 percent of total compensation costs in 2014
Boards of directors are usually composed of _____________
approximately 15 members
One of the key advantages for employers in hiring more contingent workers is that contingent workers ________________
bring new ideas, which leads to creativity and innovation for a company
In a corporation, __________________ are often responsible for making executive pay recommendations to the board of directors.
compensation committees
A Definitive Proxy Statement under section 14A of the SEC deals with the _________________
compensation given to the CEO and the four most highly compensated officers
According to ERISA, employees must be allowed to participate in pension plans after they have reached 21 years of age and ________________.
completed 1 year of service
Each of the following is an example of a structural change in the U.S. economy that has contributed to the rise of contingent employment EXCEPT __________________
employees' unwillingness to work full-time
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires that ________________
employers offer health insurance to their employees, and if individuals do not have insurance from employers, they should get insurance on their own
Generally, companies expect more from part-time salaried employees. One of the ways to reduce the number of hours of work for a part-time employee is to _______________
establish explicit work-related goals and work-hour limits
When designing executive compensation, consultants consider strategic analyses, which are based on _________________
external market context and internal factors
Many compensation professionals and board of directors members argue that the trends in executive compensation are necessary __________________
for attracting and retaining top executives
Named executive officers (NEOs) are the ____________
four most highly compensated officers after the CEO
When members of an organization agree on mistaken solutions because they desire to conform, it is called ______________
groupthink
The legal requirement for employee benefits stems from the ___________________
growth of industrialization in the early 1900s
The services category of discretionary benefits does NOT include ______________
health insurance
If Coca-Cola makes it possible for its executives to buy Coke stock shares in the future at a predetermined price, Coca-Cola is granting the executives a(n) ______________________
incentive stock option
When executives are paid large bonuses to leave the company because of their poor performance, it is commonly referred to as _________________
pay-for-failure
Participation requirements are applicable to ________________?
pension plans
According to economic theory, CEO compensation should be set ____________________
through negotiation
A compressed workweek means employees complete their work _________________
within fewer than 5 days in a 5-day workweek
Polaroid Corporation's example of "24-hour" coverage integrates medical insurance with _________________
workers' compensation
How long can individuals have insurance coverage under COBRA?
18 months
In most cases, the maximum continuation period for an employee on COBRA is _________________
18 months
A cliff vesting schedule requires that an employee be 100 percent vested after ________ years of service.
3
Which of the following is the most common form of defined contribution plan?
401(k) plan
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) defines highly compensated employees by certain criteria. Which of the following is NOT one of the criteria?
A 20 percent owner in the current or preceding year
Which of the following is true of key employees?
A key employee is an officer of the company having an income greater than $175,000 or a 5 percent owner of the key business
Each of the following is a benefit of integrated paid time-off policies EXCEPT:
Bereavement or funeral leave is incorporated into the paid time-off bank
Under this agreement, the board of directors is allowed to take back an executive's performance-based compensation if it finds performance expectations were not met.
Clawback provision
Which of the following work arrangements allows employees to work fewer days as long as they meet the number of required work hours?
Compressed workweek schedule
___________________ are contingent workers who form independent, working relationships with business to complete short-term projects requiring specialized skills that are often in short supply in the labor market.
Consultants and freelancers
In general, labor unions do not support organizations' use of contingent workers. Which of the following is a common concern of labor unions?
Contingent workers receive lower wages and benefits than core employees
The main components of executive compensation include:
Core compensation, deferred core compensation, employee benefits, and clawback provisions
Which of the following is true of flexible work schedules?
Flextime and the compressed work week are the most common types of flexible work schedules
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), which is the tax code of the United States, recognizes two groups that play a major role in a company. Which of the following represent these two groups?
Highly compensated employees and key employees
Which of the following is responsible for the designations of key or highly compensated employees?
Internal Revenue Code (IRC)
Which of the following is NOT true of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)?
It protects employees' health benefits
The main reasons unions oppose flexible work schedules and contingent workers center on which two issues?
Job security and inequitable treatment issues
Which type of work arrangements allows an employee to partner with another worker to perform a single full-time job and in return continue to receive benefits, including retirement?
Job sharing
If Company A uses software programmers it hires from another company on a long-term basis to continually modify and maintain important aspects of its website, this would be an example of which of the following?
Lease company arrangement
Which of the following is NOT a feature of fee-for-service plans?
Limitations and restrictions on health care providers to be used
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are part of which broad class of health insurance programs?
Managed care plans
Which of the following plans supplements Medicare Part A and Part B, helping cover the costs of coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles?
Medigap
Which act legitimized bargaining for employee benefits?
National Labor Relations Act
With regard to financing programs, what are the three categories from which human resource managers can choose?
Noncontributory programs, contributory programs, and employee-financed programs
To qualify for unemployment insurance, workers must meet which of the following conditions?
Not have left a job voluntarily
When companies adopt flexible working arrangements to help balance work and family roles, which of the following compensation issues is the most difficult to manage?
Paid time-off benefits
Which of the following was established in 1759 to assist the widows and children of Presbyterian ministers?
Pension plans
Which statement regarding contingent workers is FALSE?
Persons who do not continue their jobs for personal reasons like attending school are still classified as contingent workers
Which of the following can undermine the positive effects of discretionary benefits?
Presenting benefits to employees as entitlements
Under which of the three broad categories for discretionary benefits does disability insurance fall?
Protection programs
What are the three categories of discretionary benefits?
Protection, paid time off, and services
_____________ unions have recently begun to accept the use of flexible work schedules
Public sector
Which of the following applies to the disclosure of executive compensation practices?
Securities and Exchange Act
Which of the following are non-deferred incentives that are designed to reward executives for achieving intermediate performance goals?
Short-term incentives
Which of the following is LEAST likely a compensation issue arising from part-time employment?
Should the company contribute to workers' compensation insurance for part-time employees?
Of the following, which is NOT regulated by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)?
Social Security
What are the categories of legally required benefits?
Social Security programs, workers' compensation, unpaid family and medical leave, and health insurance
Which of the following is TRUE of seasonal employment?
Some seasonal employees are exempt from the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime pay provisions
Which statement about flexible work schedules and overtime pay is FALSE?
The FLSA overtime provisions allow companies to pay less than one and one-half times the normal pay to employees on flexible schedules
Which government agency levies penalties against companies and individuals who violate the IRC?
The IRS
________________ refers to the minimum amount of time an employee must wait after becoming disabled before receiving disability payments
The elimination period
Which of the following is NOT a reason that labor unions are generally opposed to a company's use of contingent workers?
The level of performance of a telecommuting employee is lower than that of a core employee
Which statement is FALSE regarding the "say on pay" provision of the Dodd-Frank Act?
The say on pay provision states that the shareholder vote is a binding vote
What is a potential cost associated with extensive discretionary benefits programs?
They may also undermine the imperatives of strategic compensation efforts
Would a hospital be required to pay overtime to a hospital nurse who normally works a 10-hour shift of a 4-day schedule and who is required to work and extra 8-hour shift of the fifth day because of a flu outbreak that has stressed the capacity of existing health care personnel?
Yes, the hospital would be required to pay time-and-one-half for the 8-hour shift
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 deals with ________________
corporate financial information and executive compensation practices
Each of the following is a duty performed by a compensation committee EXCEPT ________________
discussing the alternate options for compensation with the CEO
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, diversity in the United States is likely to _____________, leading to _______________ demand for flexible benefit plans.
increase; increased
One of the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is that __________________
it protects the transfer, disclosure, and use of health care information
Each state has workers' compensation laws based on the principle of _________________
liability without fault
With performance-based pay, successful performance usually leads to ________________
merit and incentive awards
By designing discretionary employee benefits programs to fit a company's strategic needs, a company can most likely ______________
reduce its tax liability and promote competitive advantage
The safe harbor rules applies to leased employee ____________ benefits.
retirement
Under the rules of COBRA, companies are permitted to charge terminated employees ____________ of the cost of coverage
slightly more than 100 percent
In general, employee compensation tends to emphasize the individual's effort, whereas legally required benefits emphasize _______________
social adequacy
If a CEO were to attempt to influence the compensation committee by using date from other CEOs who had higher compensation in the same industry, this would be an example of _________________
social comparison theory
The costs of employee benefits have grown considerably; the growth in funds available to support overall employee compensation has ______________
stagnated
A right granted by a company to an employee to purchase a number of stocks at a designated price within a specified period is called a(n) __________________
stock option
In a discussion of theoretical explanations for setting executive compensation, the actions of executives in their own self-interest are known as ________________
the agency problem
Employers base sick leave and vacation time on _________________
the number of hours worked in a month
Each of the following is a reason why labor unions have been reluctant to allow their members to participate in telecommuting and flexible work arrangements EXCEPT _____________________
the use of employer-provided equipment as a working condition fringe benefit
In short-term, legally required benefits may be a hindrance to companies because
these offerings require substantial employer expenditures
