Compensation and Benefits

Question 0

Act that determined that older workers may not be discriminated against by performance-based pay systems.

Answer 0

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 1967

Question 1

Practice where an un-contracted medical provider bills a patient for all charges not paid for by the patient’s insurance plan, even if those charges are above the plan’s usual and customary rate or are considered medically unnecessary.

Answer 1

Balance billing

Question 2

Basic compensation an employee receives, usually as a wage or salary.

Answer 2

Base pay

Question 3

Combining several salary grades or job classifications with narrow pay ranges into one band with a wider spread.

Answer 3

Broad-banding

Question 4

Pay that employees receive when they are called back for an extra shift in the same workday.

Answer 4

Call-back pay

Question 5

Type of health-care plan in which the physician is paid on a per capita (per head) basis rather than for actual treatment provided.

Answer 5

Capitated health-care plan

Question 6

Form of defined benefit plan that defines the promised benefit in terms of a hypothetical account balance and features benefit portability.

Answer 6

Cash balance plan

Question 7

Allows a publicly traded company to take back previous executive incentive-based compensation in specific circumstances.

Answer 7

Clawback provision

Question 8

Payment made to salespeople, usually calculated as a percentage of sales.

Answer 8

Commission

Question 9

Concept that states that jobs requiring comparable skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions filled primarily by women should have the same job classification and salary as similar jobs filled by men.

Answer 9

Comparable worth

Question 10

Pay rate divided by the midpoint of the pay range.

Answer 10

Compa-ratio

Question 11

Reflect the dimensions along which a job is perceived to add value to the organization; used to determine which jobs are worth more than others.

Answer 11

Compensable factors

Question 12

Act that provides individuals and dependents who may lose medical coverage with opportunity to pay to continue coverage.

Answer 12

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

Question 13

Instrument that measures change over time for costs of a group of goods and services

Answer 13

Consumer price index (CPI)

Question 14

Healthcare options intended to help employers better control costs while allowing employees to make more decisions about their health care.

Answer 14

Consumer-directed health care

Question 15

Eliminates the duplication of payments when an employee, spouse, or dependents have health coverage under two or more plans.

Answer 15

Coordination of benefits

Question 16

Specified percentage (typically 20% to 30%) of covered medical expenses that employee pays or fixed dollar amount that covered person pays each time he or she visits a physician or purchases prescription drugs.

Answer 16

Copayment

Question 17

Act that prohibits federal contractors from receiving kickbacks from employees or subcontractors for wages earned on federal projects.

Answer 17

Copeland “Anti-Kickback Act, 1934

Question 18

Periodic compensation payment given to eligible employees regardless of their performance or organizational profitability; usually linked to inflation.

Answer 18

Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)

Question 19

Trust created exclusively for the purpose of paying the qualified education expenses of a designated beneficiary.

Answer 19

Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA)

Question 20

Act that established prevailing wage and benefit requirements for contractors on federally funded construction projects in excess of over $2,000.

Answer 20

Davis-Bacon Act, 1931

Question 21

Initial amount of covered medical expenses an individual must pay before receiving paid benefits under a health-care plan.

Answer 21

Deductible

Question 22

Plan that provides income to employees at some future time as compensation for work performed now.

Answer 22

Deferred compensation

Question 23

Plan that promises employee a retirement benefit amount based on a formula.

Answer 23

Defined benefit plan

Question 24

Plan in which the employer and sometimes the employee make an annual payment to the employee’s retirement plan account.

Answer 24

Defined contribution plan

Question 25

Pay that is based on when the employee works (e.g., overtime pay, shift-pay differential) or where the employee works.

Answer 25

Differential pay

Question 26

Pay that is received by an employee, including based pay, differential pay, and incentive pay.

Answer 26

Direct compensation

Question 27

Law that calls for fundamental changes in executive compensation disclosure, compensation committee independence, shareholder voting rights, and clawback provisions in publicly traded companies.

Answer 27

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Question 28

Amount advanced on future commissions

Answer 28

Draw

Question 29

Career development programs that identify meaningful career paths for professional and technical people whose preferences may be outside traditional management roles.

Answer 29

Dual career ladders

Question 30

Act that adjusts minimum vesting schedules, increasing retirement plan compensation and contribution limits, permits, catch-up contributions by participants age 50 or older in certain retirement plans, and modifies distribution and rollover rules.

Answer 30

Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA)

Question 31

Extra pay that employees receive when they are called into work during an emergency (e.g, a power outage)

Answer 31

Emergency-shift pay

Question 32

Amendment to the Portal-to-Portal Act; clarifies that commuting time is not paid working time.

Answer 32

Employee Commuting Flexibility Act

Question 33

Act that established uniform minimum standards for employer-sponsored retirement and health and welfare benefit programs.

Answer 33

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 1974

Question 34

Stock plan structured as a form of ERISA-governed qualified retirement plan.

Answer 34

Employee stock-ownership plan (ESOP)

Question 35

Workers who are covered b Fair Labor Standard Act regulations as determined by the IRS.

Answer 35

Employees

Question 36

Act that prohibits wage discrimination by requiring equal pay for equal work.

Answer 36

Equal Pay Act (EPA)

Question 37

Work having equal skills, equal effort, equal responsibility, and similar working conditions, all performed at the same location.

Answer 37

Equal work

Question 38

Non-qualified deferred compensation plans that provide benefits to selected management or highly compensated employees beyond Section 415 limitations.

Answer 38

Excess deferral plans

Question 39

Amount of employer-provided group-term life insurance over $50,000.

Answer 39

Excess group-term life insurance

Question 40

Plan in which participants must use providers in the network of coverage or no payment will be made.

Answer 40

Exclusive provider organization (EPO)

Question 41

Employees who are excluded from FLSA minimum wage and overtime requirements.

Answer 41

Exempt employees

Question 42

Traditional term used to describe persons who live in one country and are employed by an organization based in another country.

Answer 42

Expatriates

Question 43

Rating system that bases insurance rates on claims history.

Answer 43

Experience rating

Question 44

Written statement provided by an insurance provider indicating what portion of a benefit claim was paid to the health-care provider and what portion of the payment, if any, the individual is responsible for.

Answer 44

Explanation of benefits (EOB)

Question 45

When and organization’s pay rates are at least equal to market rates.

Answer 45

External equity

Question 46

Act that provided certain legal protections for spousal beneficiaries of qualified retirement plans.

Answer 46

Retirement Equity Act (REA)

Question 47

Job comparison method that ranks each job by each selected compensable factor and then identifies dollar values to develop a pay rate.

Answer 47

Factor comparison method

Question 48

Act that regulates employee status, overtime pay, child labor, minimum wage, record keeping, and other administrative concerns.

Answer 48

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Question 49

Act that provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for family members or because of a serious health condition of the employee.

Answer 49

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Question 50

In these type of profit-sharing plans, the employer contributes a percentage of profits to employee accounts in a qualified, tax-deferred retirement plan.

Answer 50

Deferred profit-sharing plans

Question 51

Private, not-for-profit body that decides how public financial executives should report their firm’s financial information to their shareholders.

Answer 51

Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB)

Question 52

Qualified tuition plan that provides families a federal tax-free way to save money for college.

Answer 52

529 plan

Question 53

Employer-funded plan that reimburses employees only for eligible and substantiated health-care expenses.

Answer 53

Health reimbursement account (HRA)

Question 54

Provides each incumbent of a job with the same rate of pay, regardless of performance or seniority; also known as single-rate pay.

Answer 54

Flat-rate pay

Question 55

Type of Section 125 plan that allows employee to use pretax dollars to pay for out-of-pocket health and dependent-care expenses.

Answer 55

Flexible spending account (FSA)

Question 56

Plans that allow employee to make tax-free favored pay deferrals toward retirement savings through a payroll deduction plan.

Answer 56

401 (k) plan

Question 57

Plans that allow employees of certain tax-exempt organizations to contribute pretax dollars toward retirement savings.

Answer 57

403 (b) plan

Question 58

Plans that allow employee of states, political subdivisions or agencies of states, and certain tax-exempt organizations to defer receipt of wages.

Answer 58

457 plans

Question 59

Listing of grouped data, from lowest to highest.

Answer 59

Frequency distribution

Question 60

Shows the number of people or organizations associated with data organized in a frequency distribution.

Answer 60

Frequency table

Question 61

Type of 125 plan that allows employees to choose from a menu of benefits and allocate pretax dollars to pay for those benefits.

Answer 61

Full cafeteria plan.

Question 62

Health-care plan in which the employer pays a third-party insurance carrier premiums that cover medical insurance charges, administrative costs, sales commissions, taxes, and profits.

Answer 62

Fully insured health-care plan.

Question 63

Group incentives where a portion of the gains an organization realizes from group efforts is shared with the group.

Answer 63

Gainsharing plans.

Question 64

Individual, usually a primary-care physician, who is given control of patient access to specialists and services in a managed care organization.

Answer 64

Gatekeeper

Question 65

Pay increase given to all employee (or a class of employees such as office or production workers) based on local competitive market requirements; awarded regardless of employee performance.

Answer 65

General pay increase

Question 66

Act that prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and health insurance.

Answer 66

Genetic Information Act (GINA)

Question 67

Pay based on where an employee works

Answer 67

Geographic differential pay

Question 68

System of overlapping short- and long-term incentives to make it less likely that key employee will leave an organization.

Answer 68

Golden handcuffs

Question 69

System by which qualified retirement plan participants become incrementally vested over a period of years of service.

Answer 69

Graded vesting

Question 70

Clauses written into executive contracts that provide special payments to key executives who might lose their position or be otherwise disadvantaged if another organization took control through a merger or acquisition.

Answer 70

Parachutes; also known as golden parachutes

Question 71

Account providing tax-free income growth; contributions are made with after-tax dollars.

Answer 71

Roth IRA

Question 72

Total earning before taxes; include regular wages plus additional earning such as tips, bonuses and overtime pay.

Answer 72

Gross earning

Question 73

Situation where an employee’s pay is below the minimum of the range.

Answer 73

Green-circle rates

Question 74

Pay earned by employees who work in an environment that is considered more risky from a safety or health point of view.

Answer 74

Hazard pay

Question 75

Act that made changes to ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, the Public Health Service Act, and COBRA to improve health-care coverage portability and accessibility and provide medical record privacy and security.

Answer 75

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 1996

Question 76

Purchases health-care plans for large groups of employers to provide small organizations the economic advantages large organizations have.

Answer 76

Health insurance purchasing cooperative (HIPC)

Question 77

Tax-sheltered savings account similar to an IRA but created primarily to pay for medical expense

Answer 77

Health savings account (HSA)

Question 78

Determined by an array of issues such as business ownership and/or salary.

Answer 78

Highly compensated employee (HCE)

Question 79

Form of base pay that is dependent on the number of hours worked.

Answer 79

Hourly wage

Question 80

Form of direct compensation where employers pay for performance beyond normal expectations to motivate employees to perform at higher levels.

Answer 80

Incentive pay.

Question 81

Full-choice health plan that allows covered employees to go to any qualified physician or hospital and submit claims to the insurance company; also known as fee-for-service health-care plan.

Answer 81

Indemnity health-care plan

Question 82

Workers who are not covered by Fair Labor Standard Act regulations as determined by the IRS.

Answer 82

Independent contractors

Question 83

Jobs used as reference points when setting up a job classification system and when designing or modifying a pay structure.

Answer 83

Benchmark jobs

Question 84

Compensation commonly referred to as benefits.

Answer 84

Indirect compensation

Question 85

Tax-deferred accounts to which wage earners can contribute an amount up to a yearly maximum.

Answer 85

Individual retirement accounts (IRAs)

Question 86

Traditional term used to describe employee brought in from another country to work in the headquarters country for a specific period.

Answer 86

Inpatriates

Question 87

Requires participants to complete a specific number of years of service with an employer before they get any vested benefits, after which they are 100% vested.

Answer 87

Cliff vesting

Question 88

Occurs when people feel that performance or job differences result in corresponding differences in pay rates.

Answer 88

Internal equity

Question 89

Umbrella term used to describe anyone on a global posting.

Answer 89

International assignee (IA)

Question 90

Bilateral social security agreements that coordinate the U.S. Social Security program with the comparable programs of other countries; also known as totalization agreements.

Answer 90

International social security agreements

Question 91

Payroll deductions such as tax levies and court-ordered child support that an employee must pay

Answer 91

Involuntary deductions

Question 92

Evaluation method that groups jobs into a predetermined number of grades or classifications, each having a class description to use for job comparisons.

Answer 92

Job classification

Question 93

Systematic determination of the relative worth of jobs within an organization.

Answer 93

Job evaluation

Question 94

Evaluation method that establishes a hierarchy of jobs from lowest to highest based on overall importance to the organization.

Answer 94

Job ranking

Question 95

Maximum dollar amount of covered medical expenses that a health-care plan will pay on behalf of any covered person during that person’s lifetime.

Answer 95

Lifetime maximum benefit

Question 96

Act that creates a rolling time frame for filing wage discrimination claims and expands plaintiff field beyond employee who was discriminated against.

Answer 96

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Question 97

Concept that states that employees must be able to influence the attainment of a goal and see a direct result of their efforts in order for incentive pay plans to be effective.

Answer 97

Line of sight

Question 98

Insurance coverage that provides a daily monetary benefit to people who are chronically ill and who require living assistance wither at hoe or in residential facility.

Answer 98

Long-term care insurance

Question 99

Replaces a portion of employee’s lost income after short-term disability coverage ends.

Answer 99

Long-term disability (LTD) coverage

Question 100

One-time payment made to an employee; also called performance bonus.

Answer 100

Lump-sum increase (LSI)

Question 101

General term for a medical plan that seeks to ensure that the treatments a person receives are medically necessary and provided in a cost-effective manner.

Answer 101

Managed care

Question 102

Method similar to job evaluation systems that evaluates jobs based upon their market value.

Answer 102

Market-based evaluation

Question 103

Correlate pay with time spent in a professional field such as teaching or research.

Answer 103

Maturity curves

Question 104

Middle point above and below which 50% of scores in a set of data lie.

Answer 104

Median

Question 105

Involves traveling to hospitals and health-care providers that are outside an employer’s local area of network; also called medical travel.

Answer 105

Medical tourism

Question 106

Social Security Administration program that provides medical care for people over age 65.

Answer 106

Medicare

Question 107

Health plan where benefits are reduced for employees eligible for Medicare; Medicare becomes the primary provider.

Answer 107

Medicare carve-out

Question 108

Health plan that covers specific expenses not covered by Medicare.

Answer 108

Medicare supplement

Question 109

Act that addresses parity between mental heath benefits and medical benefits.

Answer 109

Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA)

Question 110

Situation where an individual’s performance is the basis for the amount and timing of pay increases; also called performance-based pay.

Answer 110

Merit pay

Question 111

Minimum hourly amount, determined by Congress, that nonexempt employees can be paid.

Answer 111

Minimum wage

Question 112

Value that occurs most frequently in a set data.

Answer 112

Mode

Question 113

Offered to employees who are on leave for injuries under FMLA; job tasks are modified to meet the employee’s restrictions.

Answer 113

Modified-duty programs

Question 114

Plans in which employers make mandatory payments (a fixed percentage of an eligible employee’s compensation) to a retirement plan.

Answer 114

Money purchase plans

Question 115

Organizations with operations in multiple countries.

Answer 115

Multinational enterprises (MNEs)

Question 116

In health plans, requires a secondary carrier to reimburse only up to the level of reimbursement the primary carrier would have paid.

Answer 116

Non-duplication of benefits

Question 117

Employees covered under FLSA regulations, including minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.

Answer 117

Nonexempt employees

Question 118

Income deferral benefit offered to a select group of management or highly compensated employees in the organization.

Answer 118

Non-qualified deferred compensation plan

Question 119

Act that amended ADEA to include all employee benefits; also provided terminated employees with time to consider group termination or retirement programs and consult an attorney.

Answer 119

Older Worker’s Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)

Question 120

Pay that employees receive when they can be called in to work but are not working before receiving the call to return to work.

Answer 120

On-call pay

Question 121

Stated amount out of pocket the insured can pay for medical costs in a 12-month period before copayments end.

Answer 121

Out-of-pocket maximum

Question 122

Required for nonexempt workers under FLSA at 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.

Answer 122

Overtime pay

Question 123

Large bank of time comprising all of an employee’s paid time off (i.e., vacation, sick leave, and holidays) that the employee can use as he or she sees fit.

Answer 123

Paid-time-off (PTO) bank

Question 124

Occurs when there is only a small difference in pay between employees regardless of their skills, experience, or seniority; also know as salary compression.

Answer 124

Pay compression

Question 125

Provides each incumbent of a job with the same rate of pay, regardless of performance or seniority; also known as flat-rate pay.

Answer 125

Single-rate pay

Question 126

Used to group jobs that have approximately the same relative internal or external worth and are paid at the same rate or within the same pay range.

Answer 126

Pay grades

Question 127

Job ranking method in which evaluator compares each job with every other job being evaluated.

Answer 127

Paired-comparison method

Question 128

Set the upper and lower bounds of possible compensation for individuals whose jobs fall in a pay grade.

Answer 128

Pay ranges

Question 129

Collect information on prevailing market rates and include topics such as incentive plans, overtime pay, and base pay.

Answer 129

Pay surveys

Question 130

Act that changed the laws that affected defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, and other issues related to retirement planning.

Answer 130

Pension Protection Act (PPA), 2006

Question 131

One-time payment made to an employee; also called a lump-sum increase.

Answer 131

Performance bonus

Question 132

Situation where an individual’s performance is the basis for the amount and timing of pay increases; also called merit pay.

Answer 132

Performance-based pay

Question 133

Situation in which employee pays a portion of the required monthly premium for health-care coverage.

Answer 133

Premium sharing

Question 134

“In place of parent”; term used in expansion of FMLA coverage to employees who stand in place of a parent with day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child or who have a day-to-day responsibility to care for or financially support a person who stood in loco parentis for them.

Answer 134

In loco parentis

Question 135

Special privileges for executive characteristics, rather than the job, determine pay.

Answer 135

Perquisites

Question 136

Pay system in which employee characteristics (skills, knowledge), rather than the job, determine pay.

Answer 136

Person-based pay

Question 137

Consists of hospital and physician practices that merge into vertically integrated structures.

Answer 137

Physician hospital organizations (PHOs)

Question 138

Most commonly used method of job evaluation; involves using specific factors to evaluate job worth.

Answer 138

Point-factor method

Question 139

Combination of a PPO and an HMO; provide direct access to specialists.

Answer 139

Point-of-service (POS) organizations

Question 140

Act that defines what is included as hours worked and is therefore compensable and a factor in calculating overtime.

Answer 140

Portal-to-Portal Act, 1947

Question 141

Set of benefits provided to employees who are terminated for some reason other than cause.

Answer 141

Severance package

Question 142

Medical conditions that existed before a health-care policy is taken out.

Answer 142

preexisting conditions

Question 143

Formed by an insurance company, an employer or a group of employers who negotiate discounted fees with networks of health-care providers; in return, the employers guarantee a certain volume of patients.

Answer 143

Preferred provider organizations (PPOs)

Question 144

Type of Section 125 plan that allows employees to pay for certain qualified benefits with pretax dollars.

Answer 144

Premium-only plan (POP)

Question 145

Rulings issued by the IRS to specific taxpayers or organizations that request an interpretation of the law.

Answer 145

Private-letter rulings

Question 146

Pay based on the quantity of work and outputs that can be accurately measured.

Answer 146

Productivity-based pay

Question 147

Plans that distribute a portion of an organization’s profits to its employees.

Answer 147

Profit sharing plans

Question 148

Stated that an ERISA plan fiduciary has legal and financial obligations not to take more risks when investing employee benefit program funds than a reasonably knowledgable, prudent investor would under similar circumstances.

Answer 148

Prudent person rule

Question 149

Retirement benefit offered to all employees in the organization; provides tax advantages and is protected under Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Answer 149

Qualified deferred compensation plan

Question 150

Create or recognize the right of an alternative payee to receive all or a portion of the benefits under a retirement plan.

Answer 150

Qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs)

Question 151

Under COBRA, an event such as termination for reasons other than gross misconduct, that allows employees to continue their group health-care coverage for a specified period of time.

Answer 151

Qualifying event

Question 152

Grantor trust designated to segregate non-qualified deferred compensation benefits from an employer’s general accounts.

Answer 152

Rabbi trust

Question 153

Reimbursement standard used by insurance companies to determine how much providers should be paid for their services.

Answer 153

Reasonable and customary

Question 154

Describe situations where employees’ pay is above the range maximum.

Answer 154

Red-circle rates

Question 155

Traditional term referring to employees who have returned home from international assignments.

Answer 155

Repatriates

Question 156

Pay provided to employees who report for work as scheduled but then find no work is available.

Answer 156

Reporting pay

Question 157

Act that provided certain legal protections for spousal beneficiaries of qualified retirement plans.

Answer 157

Retirement Equity Act (REA)

Question 158

Act that added Sections 125 and 401 (k) to the Tax Code.

Answer 158

Revenue Act

Question 159

Rulings published by the IRS as general guidelines to all taxpayers or organizations.

Answer 159

Revenue rulings

Question 160

Plans that allow after-tax contributions to existing 401 (k) or 403 (b) plans

Answer 160

Roth 401(k) / 403(b) plans

Question 161

Account providing tax-free income growth; contributions are made with after-tax dollars.

Answer 161

Roth IRA

Question 162

Uniform amount of money paid to a worker regardless of how many hours are worked.

Answer 162

Salary

Question 163

Occurs when there is only a small difference in pay between employees regardless of their skills, experience, or seniority; also known as pay compression.

Answer 163

Salary compression

Question 164

Act that requires administrators of defined contribution plans to provide notice of blackout periods; provides whistleblower protection for employees.

Answer 164

Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), 2002

Question 165

Retirement plan by which employees can contribute each year to a 401(k) plan or IRA.

Answer 165

Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE)

Question 166

Written benefit plans maintained by the employer that allow employees to use pretax dollars to pay for certain benefits.

Answer 166

Section 125 benefit plans

Question 167

Health-care plans in which the employer takes on the role of the insurance company and assumes some or all the risk.

Answer 167

Self-funded health-care plan

Question 168

System that allows preference to employees with the longest service.

Answer 168

Seniority

Question 169

As defined in DOL regulations, a condition that involves employee incapacity for more than three calendar days plus “two visits to a health-care provider.”

Answer 169

Serious health condition

Question 170

Supplemental pay period to employees who work less-desirable hours, such as as second or third shifts.

Answer 170

Shift pay

Question 171

Replaces a portion of lost income for a specified period of time for employees who are ill or have non work-related injuries.

Answer 171

Short-term disability (STD) coverage

Question 172

Extra pay for working holidays or vacation days.

Answer 172

Premium pay.

Question 173

Form of health care that provides services for a fixed period on a prepaid basis.

Answer 173

Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)

Question 174

Specified period of time during which employees are ill or have nonwork-related injuries receive their full salary.

Answer 174

Sick leave

Question 175

Tax-deferred account to which the self-employed and employees of very small businesses can contribute.

Answer 175

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)

Question 176

Provides each incumbent of a job with the same rate of pay, regardless of performance or seniority; also known as flat-rate pay.

Answer 176

Single-rate pay

Question 177

Social Security Administration program that provides retirement, disability, death, and survivor’s benefits.

Answer 177

Social Security

Question 178

Insurance policy that protects employers with partially self-funded insurance plans by limiting individual and group-wide claims.

Answer 178

Stop-loss coverage

Question 179

Identified time period and ending point in incentive pay plans.

Answer 179

Sunset clause

Question 180

Benefits paid to unemployed workers beyond required government unemployment benefits.

Answer 180

Supplemental unemployment benefits (SUB)

Question 181

Pay beyond base salary or wages such as bonuses and commissions.

Answer 181

Supplemental wages

Question 182

Set up by ERISA to insure payment of benefits in the event that a private-sector defined benefit pension plan terminates with insufficient funds to pay the benefits.

Answer 182

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

Question 183

Act that changed the laws that affected defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, and other issues related to retirement planning.

Answer 183

Pension Protection Act (PPA)

Question 184

One-time payment made to an employee; also called a lump-sum increase.

Answer 184

Performance bonus

Question 185

Situation where an individual’s performance is the basis for the amount and timing of pay increases; also called merit pay.

Answer 185

Performance-based pay

Question 186

Organization-wide incentive plans in which funds are made available for incentive awards based on predetermined criteria and standards.

Answer 186

Performance-sharing plans

Question 187

Special privileges for executive characteristics, rather than the job, determine pay.

Answer 187

Perquisites

Question 188

Pay system in which employee characteristics, rather than the job, determine pay.

Answer 188

Person-based pay

Question 189

Consists of hospital and physician practices that merge into vertically integrated structures.

Answer 189

Physician hospital organizations (PHOs)

Question 190

Most commonly used method of job evaluation; involves using specific factors to evaluate job worth.

Answer 190

Point-factor method

Question 191

Situation in which employee pays a portion of the required monthly premium for health-care coverage.

Answer 191

Premium sharing

Question 192

Type of Section 125 plan that allows employees to pay for certain qualified benefits with pretax dollars.

Answer 192

Premium-only plan (POP)

Question 193

Medical conditions that existed before a health-care policy is taken out.

Answer 193

preexisting conditions

Question 194

Formed by an insurance company, an employer or a group of employers who negotiate discounted fees with networks of health-care providers; in return, the employers guarantee a certain volume of patients.

Answer 194

Preferred provider organizations (PPOs)

Question 195

Rulings issued by the IRS to specific taxpayers or organizations that request an interpretation of the law.

Answer 195

Private-letter rulings

Question 196

Pay based on the quantity of work and outputs that can be accurately measured.

Answer 196

Productivity-based pay

Question 197

Plans that distribute a portion of an organization’s profits to its employees.

Answer 197

Profit sharing plans

Question 198

Stated that an ERISA plan fiduciary has legal and financial obligations not to take more risks when investing employee benefit program funds than a reasonably knowledgable, prudent investor would under similar circumstances.

Answer 198

Prudent person rule

Question 199

Retirement benefit offered to all employees in the organization; provides tax advantages and is protected under Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Answer 199

Qualified deferred compensation plan

Question 200

Create or recognize the right of an alternative payee to receive all or a portion of the benefits under a retirement plan.

Answer 200

Qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs)

Question 201

Under COBRA, an event such as termination for reasons other than gross misconduct, that allows employees to continue their group health-care coverage for a specified period of time.

Answer 201

Qualifying event

Question 202

Grantor trust designated to segregate non-qualified deferred compensation benefits from an employer’s general accounts.

Answer 202

Rabbi trust

Question 203

Reimbursement standard used by insurance companies to determine how much providers should be paid for their services.

Answer 203

Reasonable and customary

Question 204

Advantages of person-based system pay.

Answer 204

• works best where skill/knowledge levels are well defined
• encourages a flexible and better-trained workforce
• may reduce need for specialists
• allows for the use of work teams that are highly interdependent

Question 205

Describe situations where employees’ pay is above the range maximum.

Answer 205

Red-circle rates

Question 206

Traditional term referring to employees who have returned home from international assignments.

Answer 206

Repatriates

Question 207

Combination of a PPO and an HMO; provide direct access to specialists.

Answer 207

Point-of-service (POS) organizations

Question 208

Pay provided to employees who report for work as scheduled but then find no work is available.

Answer 208

Reporting pay

Question 209

Set up by ERISA to insure payment of benefits in the event that a private-sector defined benefit pension plan terminates with insufficient funds to pay the benefits.

Answer 209

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

Question 210

Act that reduced compensation limits in qualified retirement programs.

Answer 210

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA), 1993.

Question 211

Plans that allow after-tax contributions to existing 401 (k) or 403 (b) plans

Answer 211

Roth 401(k) / 403(b) plans

Question 212

Uniform amount of money paid to a worker regardless of how many hours are worked.

Answer 212

Salary

Question 213

Retirement plan by which employees can contribute each year to a 401(k) plan or IRA.

Answer 213

Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE)

Question 214

Written benefit plans maintained by the employer that allow employees to use pretax dollars to pay for certain benefits.

Answer 214

Section 125 benefit plans

Question 215

Act that regulated “insider trading”

Answer 215

Securities and Exchange Act

Question 216

Health-care plans in which the employer takes on the role of the insurance company and assumes some or all the risk.

Answer 216

Self-funded health-care plan

Question 217

System that allows preference to employees with the longest service.

Answer 217

Seniority

Question 218

As defined in DOL regulations, a condition that involves employee incapacity for more than three calendar days plus “two visits to a health-care provider.”

Answer 218

Serious health condition

Question 219

Act that extended prevailing wage rate and benefit requirements to employers providing services under federal government contracts in excess of $2,500.

Answer 219

Service Contract Act, 1965.

Question 220

Set of benefits provided to employees who are terminated for some reason other than cause.

Answer 220

Severance package

Question 221

Supplemental pay period to employees who work less-desirable hours, such as as second or third shifts.

Answer 221

Shift pay

Question 222

Act that made changes to rules regarding the ability of tax-exempt organizations to institute retirement plans modeled after 401(k) and IRA accounts and simplified the definition of highly compensated employees.

Answer 222

Small Business Job Protection Act (SBJPA)

Question 223

Social Security Administration program that provides retirement, disability, death, and survivor’s benefits.

Answer 223

Social Security

Question 224

Which legislation deters discrimination compensation practices in the workplace and ensures that when discrimination does occur wronged employees can receive fair compensation?

a. ) Equal Pay Act
b. ) Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
c. ) Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
d. ) IRS Intermediate Sanctions

Answer 224

b.) Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, 2009

Under the Ledbetter Act, the statute of limitations resets (180 days) as the employer issues each allegedly discriminatory paycheck.

Question 225

Insurance policy that protects employers with partially self-funded insurance plans by limiting individual and group-wide claims.

Answer 225

Stop-loss coverage

Question 226

Identified time period and ending point in incentive pay plans.

Answer 226

Sunset clause

Question 227

Benefits paid to unemployed workers beyond required government unemployment benefits.

Answer 227

Supplemental unemployment benefits (SUB)

Question 228

Pay beyond base salary or wages such as bonuses and commissions.

Answer 228

Supplemental wages

Question 229

Tax-deferred account to which the self-employed and employees of very small businesses can contribute.

Answer 229

Simplified Employee Pension (ESP)

Question 230

Specified period of time during which employees are ill or have nonwork-related injuries receive their full salary.

Answer 230

Sick leave

Question 231

All remuneration for services (including noncash benefits) that is taxable when paid.

Answer 231

Taxable wages

Question 232

Act that created tax-advantaged savings mechanisms.

Answer 232

Taxpayers Relief Act (TRA), 1997

Question 233

Pay rates that are affected by when an employee works.

Answer 233

Time-based differential pay

Question 234

System in which pay is based on longevity in the job and pay increases occur on a predetermined schedule.

Answer 234

Time-based step-rate pay

Question 235

Non-qualified deferred compensation plan that provides retirement benefits to select group of management or highly compensated employees.

Answer 235

Top hat plan

Question 236

It provides retirement, disability, death, and survivor’s benefits. It is a work-related program, not public assistance, and covers most U.S. employees with the exception of the clergy and some workers in the public sector.

Answer 236

Social Security

Question 237

Bilateral social security agreements that coordinate the U.S. Social Security program with the comparable programs of other countries; also known as international social security agreements.

Answer 237

Totalization agreements

Question 238

Typically paid to nonexempt workers for the time they spend traveling to or between work assignments.

Answer 238

Travel pay

Question 239

Describes a stock option when the stock’s current market value is less than the option’s exercise price.

Answer 239

Underwater

Question 240

Mandatory benefit program set up as part of the Social Security Act designed to provide employees with some income when they lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

Answer 240

Unemployment insurance

Question 241

Act that protects employment, reemployment, and retention rights for persons who voluntarily or involuntarily serve or have served in the uniformed services.

Answer 241

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

Question 242

Raw average of data that gives equal weight to all factors, with no regard to individual factors such as the number of incumbents or organizations.

Answer 242

unweighted average

Question 243

Audit of health-care use and charges to identify which benefits are used and to make certain that care is necessary and costs are in line.

Answer 243

Utilization review

Question 244

Process by which a retirement benefit becomes non-forfeitable.

Answer 244

Vesting

Question 245

Payroll deductions selected by the employees such as charitable contributions.

Answer 245

Voluntary deductions

Question 246

Act that extended concept of prevailing wage to employers who manufacture or supply goods under government on projects exceeding $10,000 each, and required time and a half be paid for workers working over 40 hours in a workweek.

Answer 246

Walsh-Healey Act, 1936.

Question 247

How long is COBRA continues after the employee’s termination of employment for gross misconduct?

Answer 247

0

Question 248

Average of data that takes other factors such as the number of incumbents into account.

Answer 248

Weighted average

Question 249

Tax credit to encourage employers to hire people from targeted groups.

Answer 249

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

Question 250

Full-choice health-care plan that allows covered employees to go to any qualified physician or hospital and submit claims to the insurance company; also know as indemnity health-care plan.

Answer 250

Free-for-service-care plan

Question 251

Physical condition (accident or illness) that is caused, aggravated, precipitated, or accelerated by work activity or the work environment.

Answer 251

Work-related disability

Question 252

Any fixed, recurring period of 168 consecutive hours (7 days times 24 hours = 168 hours)

Answer 252

Workweek

Question 253

Which of the following statements is true under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standard Act?

a. ) Public employee may elect to accumulate comp time rather than be paid in cash for overtime.
b. ) Private employers cannot limit the number of hours an employee works based on age.
c. ) Severance and vacation pay are regulated by the FLSA.
d. ) FLSA regulations take precedence over state regulations with regard to minimum wage when state wages are higher.

Answer 253

a.) Public employee may elect to accumulate comp time rather than be paid in cash for overtime.

Question 254

When calculating overtime, the employer must include the time for an employee who:

a. ) spends two hours at home, waiting for a call to report to work
b. ) arrives one hour early for the shift and waits in the break-room
c. ) arrives at 08:00 as scheduled but cannot begin work because the needed delivery doesn’t arrive until 10:00
d. ) must commute one hour each way from home to the plant

Answer 254

c.) arrives at 08:00 as scheduled but cannot begin work because the needed delivery doesn’t arrive until 10:00

Question 255

A system used to identify compensable factors, uses a standardized set of compensable factors such as know-how, problem solving, and accountability.

Answer 255

The Hay Plan, or Guide Chart-Profile method.

Question 256

Under FLSA, which of the following employees must be paid overtime?

a. ) A janitor who worked 30 hours during the workweek and was paid for 12 hours of vacation time.
b. ) A vice president in charge of operations who worked 50 hours in a week
c. ) A nonexempt employee who worked 45 hours in a week
d. ) A security guard who worked 40 hours, including 10 hours on a holiday.

Answer 256

c.) A nonexempt employee who worked 45 hours in a week

Under FLSA, all nonexempt workers must be paid overtime pay - 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in any workweek.

Question 257

Which of the following acts requires organizations holding federal construction contracts to pay laborers and mechanics the prevailing wage of the employees in the locality where the work is performed:

a. ) Davis-Bacon Act
b. ) Walsh-Healey Act
c. ) Copeland Act
d. ) Fair Labor Standard Act

Answer 257

a.) Davis-Bacon Act
The Davis-Bacon Act requires contractors and subcontractors on certain federally funded or assisted construction projects in excess of $2,000 each in the U.S. to pay wages and fringe benefits at least equal to those prevailing in the geographic area where the work is performed.
The law applies to laborers and mechanics; trainees and apprentices may be paid less.

Question 258

Which of the follwoing issues is NOT a consideration when determining equal work under the Equal Pay Act?

a. ) Skills
b. ) Gender
c. ) Effort
d. ) Responsibility

Answer 258

b.) gender

Equal work is defined by equal skills, equal effort, equal responsibility, and similar working conditions in the same establishment.

Question 259

This type of managed health-care plan contracts with individual practices associations (IPAs) - groups of physicians in private practice who provide some services.

Answer 259

Group model HMOs.

Question 260

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, publicly traded companies are required to

a. ) disclose the compensation of certain executives to shareholders
b. ) provide shareholders with a copy of the organization’s compensation philosophy
c. ) demonstrate that pay discrepancies between executives and rank–and-file employees are grounded in statistical analysis.
d. ) pay an excise tax on erroneously awarded incentives-based compensation paid to executives.

Answer 260

a.) As a result of Dodd-Frank, the SEC will set forth rules under which a publicly traded company must disclose executive packages, the company’s financial performance, and the total compensation for the CEO as compared to the median of all the company’s compensation packages when excluding the CEO’s (the “rank-and-file” median)

Question 261

How long is COBRA continues after the employee’s termination of employment due to reduction in hours?

Answer 261

18 months

Question 262

Which legislation deters discrimination compensation practices in the workplace and ensures that when discrimination does occur wronged employees can receive fair compensation?

a. ) Equal Pay Act
b. ) Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
c. ) Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
d. ) IRS Intermediate Sanctions

Answer 262

b.) Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, 2009

Under the Ledbetter Act, the statute of limitations resets (180 days) as the employer issues each allegedly discriminatory paycheck.

Question 263

Which of the following acts sets minimum wages, child labor standards, and overtime provisions for workers?

a. ) Davis-Bacon Act
b. ) Walsh-Healey Act
c. ) Copeland Act
d. ) Fair Labor Standard Act

Answer 263

d.) Fair Labor Standard Act, 1938 is commonly referred to as the Wage and Hour Law.

Question 264

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, publicly traded companies are required to

a. ) disclose the compensation of certain executives to shareholders
b. ) provide shareholders with a copy of the organization’s compensation philosophy
c. ) demonstrate that pay discrepancies between executives and rank–and-file employees are grounded in statistical analysis.
d. ) pay an excise tax on erroneously awarded incentives-based compensation paid to executives.

Answer 264

a.) As a result of Dodd-Frank, the SEC will set forth rules under which a publicly traded company must disclose executive packages, the company’s financial performance, and the total compensation for the CEO as compared to the median of all the company’s compensation packages when excluding the CEO’s (the “rank-and-file” median)

Question 265

FLSA compliance requirements

Answer 265

The FALSA applies to organizations with employees who:

• Engage in interstate commerce
• Produce goods for interstate commerce
• Handle, sell, or work on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for interstate commerce.

Question 266

Employers who are in violation of a child labor law could be subject to a civil money penalty of:

a. ) $11,000
b. ) $25,000
c. ) Up to $10,000
d. ) $1,100 for each employee

Answer 266

a.) $11,000

Employers may be subject to a civil money penalty (CMP) of up to $11,000 for each employee who is the subject to child labor violation.

Question 267

Examples of Direct Compensation.

Answer 267

• Base pay/wages
• Differential pay
• short-term and long-term incentive pay
• Commissions and bonuses
• Pay programs for selected employees, such as sales and professors
• Recognition and achievement awards (Cash)

Question 268

It is concerned with the value of a job to the organization.

Answer 268

Job Evaluation.

Question 269

Job Evaluation Methods

Answer 269

• non-quantitative

- quantitative

Question 270

What is the intent of profit-sharing plans?

Answer 270

to allow employees to “partner” with management and reap the direct benefits of profitability.

Question 271

Penalties for violating Copeland’s Anti-Kick Back Act.

Answer 271

The criminal and civil penalties include a maximum five-year prison term, a $5,000 fine, or both.

Question 272

Name two examples of systems used to identify compensable factors.

Answer 272

• The Hay Plan or Guide Chart-Profile method

- The Factor Evaluation System (FES)

Question 273

What can an HR benefit managers do to keep health-care costs down.

Answer 273

• Change the delivery system
• Let employees choose
• Redesign the policies
• Promote prevention and wellness
• Conduct careful reviews
• Undertake a utilization review
• Consider medical tourism

Question 274

As part of conducting a benefit plan needs assessment, the HR professional has looked at the organization’s business strategy and compensation philosophy. What is the NEXT step that should be taken?

a. ) Look at market conditions to see what benefits competitors offer
b. ) Determine which benefits should be included in the plan
c. ) Conduct a utilization review to determine how benefits are used
d. ) Determine employees needs with regard to benefits.

Answer 274

d.) The end result of the needs assessment should be that the benefits provided match the overall organizational strategies, support the organization’s mission and vision, and meet employee needs.

Question 275

How is the Unemployment Insurance financed?

Answer 275

Employers pay a federal tax of 6.2% o the first $7,000 earned by each worker. The money is held in a federal trust, with each state having its own account. If all state unemployment insurance is current, employers usually receive a 5.4% credit and the remaining .8% go to the federal government.
In addition, most states have state unemployment taxes. All states allow for an experience rating. As a result, tax rates may vary from as low as 1% to as high as 10%.

Question 276

Overtime exceptions in the Walsh-Healey Act.

Answer 276

The Defense Authorization Bill of 1986, excluded federal contractors from overtime pay requirements after eight hours of work in a day. In this case, time and a half must be paid only for hours in excess of 40 per week.

Question 277

If an employer determines that the FMLA medical certification is incomplete or insufficient, how many days does the employee have to “cure” the deficiency.

Answer 277

If the FMLA medical certification is incomplete or insufficient, the employer is required to designate, in writing, what information is missing. The employee has seven (7) days to cure the deficiency.

Question 278

Which of the following employer-paid benefits would an employee receive tax-free?

a. ) Ten days of sick leave at 100% of original salary
b. ) $1,500 for taking a computer class at the community college
c. ) $500 award for a labor-saving suggestion
d. ) two weeks of paid vacation

Answer 278

b.) Educational expense reimbursements (up to annual statutory limits) are considered a nontaxable indirect compensation.

Question 279

How long is COBRA continues after the employee’s termination of employment for any reason other than gross misconduct?

Answer 279

18 months

Question 280

How long does COBRA need to continue after in the event of a divorce or death of the employed spouse?

Answer 280

36 months

Question 281

Why ESOPs may not necessarily be a good means of incentive pay?

Answer 281

Because they do not meet the line-of-sight criterion.

That is employees may not see a link between their actions (working hard, etc.) and stock prices. The factors, may be too long-term, complex, and out employees’ control to be good motivators.

Question 282

Find median salary?
$55,000   $65,000   $70,000 
$55,000   $70,000   $70,000
$60,000   $70,000   $70,000
$65,000   $70,000

Answer 282

$70,000 is the median salary; There is an odd number of salaries (11); five salaries are less than that point and five are greater.

Question 283

What are the three primary factors when determining external equity?

Answer 283

• Industry
• Occupation
• Location

Question 284

A situation when the employer intentionally establishes pay rates or benefits below those offered by other employers in similar industry, occupation and location.

Answer 284

Lagging the market

Question 285

Main purposes of totalization agreements.

Answer 285

• They eliminate dual social security taxation
• They help fill gaps in benefit protection for workers who have divided their careers between the US and another country

Question 286

For the purposes of 403(b) plan, what are the qualified employers?

Answer 286

A qualified employer is an organization that is “organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, public-safety testing, literary, or educational purposes”. ex. K-12 public schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, philanthropic and community-based organizations, and churches.

Question 287

All forms of financial and non-financial returns that employees receive from their employers.

Answer 287

Total rewards

Question 288

A pay-type system where two employees may perform similar tasks, but the person with superior knowledge or skill mastery receives more pay.

Answer 288

Person-based pay.

Question 289

Which of the following statements about flat-rate systems is true?

a. ) They are used most often for bargaining unit jobs
b. ) They are used most often for professional jobs
c. ) They are used most often in privately held organizations
d. ) They are the most cost-effective approach

Answer 289

Flat-Rate pay or single-rate pay is typically used for elected jobs in the public sector or union hourly workers.

These always have the same rate of pay, regardless of performance or seniority.

Question 290

Disadvantages of in-house server payroll system.

Answer 290

• May need climate controlled room for the computer
• High fixed costs
• Expansion may be difficult
• Requires additional staff to maintain equipment
• System can become obsolete
• Risk of choosing equipment that does not meet the needs

Question 291

General rules for the Coverdell ESAs

Answer 291

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) are trusts set up solely for the purpose of paying qualified education expenses for the designated beneficiary of the account.

• Federal Tax exempt
• Max yearly contribution is $2,000
• Contributions are not tax-deductible
• For qualified higher education expenses
• Multiple accounts can be established for one beneficiary

Question 292

What are most frequent claims for overtime pay?

Answer 292

• disputes over periods before and after the scheduled shift worked
• work taken home by nonexempt personnel

Question 293

In this Supreme Court case, the court ruled that all time spent donning or doffing unique safety gear is compensable and that the FLSA requires payment to affected employees for all time spent walking between changing and production areas.

Answer 293

IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez, 2005.

Question 294

Disadvantages of job ranking method.

Answer 294

• it may not be clear why one job is valued over another
• not much of a differential between jobs
• not feasible when evaluating a large number of positions

Question 295

Examples of discretionary benefits.

Answer 295

Discretionary benefits, are benefits voluntarily provided by the employer that may not be totally discretionary, because competitive practice or employee relations may exert pressure on the employer.
example: an organization may augment health-care benefits where government-supplied health care is not satisfactory.

Question 296

What is the rationale behind the PTO bank.

Answer 296

The rationale is to treat employees as adults and no longer require an accounting of the reason for various absences with pay from the workplace.

Question 297

What is an alternative to providing an actual car to an employee (usually an executive)

Answer 297

To provide a car allowance instead.

Question 298

Supreme Court ruling that awarded retirement benefits to an ex-spouse even though she had agreed to disclaim such benefits, because retiree had never changed beneficiary designation on retirement plan; points out the need for retirement plan administrators to pay attention to divorcees and qualified domestic relations orders.

Answer 298

Kennedy v. Plan Administrators for Dupont Savings, 2009.

Question 299

Two types of 529 plans

Answer 299

• College savings plans

- Prepaid tuition plans

Question 300

How long does COBRA need to continue when a dependent child loses eligibility status?

Answer 300

36 months

Question 301

In accordance to SOX, a plan administrator who fails to provide a required blackout notice may be fined up to _____ per ____ affect participant or beneficiary who did not receive the notice.

Answer 301

$100 per day

Question 302

This act establishes the same standard for hostile work environment claims on account of military status as that governing Title VII and other employment discrimination laws.

Answer 302

Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act amended USERRA.
2011

Question 303

This gainsharing-type plan is based on the premise that shared rewards come from the difference between labor costs and the sales value of production. A ratio is calculated that expresses the value of production required for each dollar of the total wage bill.

Answer 303

The Rucker gainsharing Plan, popular in the 1940s.

Question 304

A situation where an organization chooses to pay their employees approximately the same wages and offer a benefit package similar to that of the competition.

Answer 304

matching the market

Question 305

This type of organizational culture sees employees as contributors. Their compensation programs are more performance driven, stressing and recognizing the contributions that individual employees make to organization.

Answer 305

Contribution-oriented organizational culture.

Question 306

What is the statue of limitations under the FLSA?

Answer 306

Generally - two years, but the time period can be extended to three years, if there has been a willful violation by the employer.

Question 307

What are escheat laws?

Answer 307

unclaimed wages

Question 308

Type of workers, as defined by DOL, who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill, and energy.

Answer 308

Blue-collar workers.

Question 309

Two varieties of qualified retirement plan.

Answer 309

• defined benefit

- defined contribution

Question 310

Supreme Court case, that decided that if an employer provides retiree health benefits, the health insurance benefits received by Medicare-eligible be the same - or cost the same - as the health insurance benefits received by younger retirees.

Answer 310

Erie County Retirees Association v. County of Erie, 2008

Question 311

What are some most important issues with Social Security program.

Answer 311

• Income redistribution (paying more into the system than will later be received from the system)
• Longevity (more people are living longer)
• Ratio Of workers to retirees (as a senior population grows, fewer younger workers will be available to pay for each retiree)

Question 312

Types of deferred compensation plans

Answer 312

• Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans (provide tax benefits, offered to all employees in the organization)
• Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plans (MAY provide tax benefits, offered to only select employees)

Question 313

What is the goal of the HIPCs

Answer 313

The goal of the Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperatives (HIPCs) is to provide small organizations with the needed economic clout to negotiate more advantageous rates than they can get acting independently.

Question 314

Difference between a specific stop-loss coverage and an aggregate stop-loss coverage.

Answer 314

Specific stop-loss coverage protects the employer’s self-funded health-care plan from risk of a major illness for one participant (or one family unit).
Aggregate stop-loss coverage protects the plan fro the risk of large group total claims from all participants during the plan year.

Question 315

What are the two plans of Medicare.

Answer 315

Medicare Part A (covers hospital insurance)

Medicare Part B (optional supplemental medical insurance)

Question 316

What are the Social Security death benefits of a surviving spouse of a deceased worker.

Answer 316

A lump-sum death payment of $255,

Question 317

Who qualifies for Social Security survivor’s benefits.

Answer 317

• Surviving spouse at age 60 or older (50 if disabled)
• Surviving souse at any age if caring for a child under the age 16 or a disabled child
• Unmarried children under age 18
• Disabled children at any age if they became disabled before age 22 and remain so
• Dependent parents, age 62 or older

Question 318

What type of criminal penalties are provided by SOX for individuals who retaliate against whistleblowers.

Answer 318

Any individual who violates SOX’s whistleblowers provision may be subject to fines and imprisonment of up to 20 years.

Question 319

What are the expansions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.

Answer 319

additional FMLA leave for

• employees with family members who are covered members of the military (up to 12 weeks)
• military caregiver leave (up to 26 weeks)

Question 320

Situation where the employer borrows money from a financial institution to finance the organization’s stock.

Answer 320

leveraged ESOPs (Employee Stock-Ownership Plan)

Question 321

How long is COBRA continues after the employee’s termination of employment when employee is disabled at the time of reduction in hours or termination?

Answer 321

29 months

Question 322

This type of defined benefit plans may consist of participants earn a percentage of the pay for each year they are plan participants.

Answer 322

Career-average formula.

This plan has another variety, where the participant’s yearly earnings are totaled and then averaged over the years in the plan.

Question 323

Tying budgets or pay to the CPI.

Answer 323

Indexing

Question 324

Calculate the range spread

Minimum annual salary: $45,000
Maximum annual salary: $65,000

Answer 324

(Maximum - Minimum) / Minimum

(65,000 - 45,000) / 45,000 = .444 or 44 %

Question 325

List examples of SUB.

Answer 325

SUB (Supplemental Unemployment Benefits)

• Paid leave
• Holiday pay
• Vacation pay
• Pay for legally protected activities
• Leave of absence
• Bereavement Leave
• Personal days

Question 326

A viable option to 401(k) and 403(b) for self-employed and small organizations

Answer 326

Simplified Employee Pensions (ESPs)

Question 327

What PBGC does not insure?

Answer 327

PBGC (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) is an ERISA pension-protection plan for qualified pension plans.
It does not cover or insure retirement plans that do not promise specific benefit amounts-defined contribution plans such as profit-sharing or 401(k).

Question 328

State insurance program designed to protect workers in cases of work-related injures or diseases.

Answer 328

Workers’ compensation

Question 329

Best way to recognize a red-circled employee’s contribution to the organization without increasing that employee’s base pay rate.

Answer 329

LSI (lump-sum increase) or a performance bonus

Question 330

Guidelines for effective use of merit pay/performance-based pay.

Answer 330

• Develop accurate performance appraisal systems
• Train supervisors in the mechanics of the performance appraisal system and in the art of giving feedback
• Tie meaningful rewards closely to performance
• Use a wide range of increases to differentiate between performance levels

Question 331

Guidelines for effective use of merit pay/performance-based pay.

Answer 331

• Develop accurate performance appraisal systems
• Train supervisors in the mechanics of the performance appraisal system and in the art of giving feedback
• Tie meaningful rewards closely to performance
• Use a wide range of increases to differentiate between performance levels

Question 332

What greatly diminished the tax advantages of perquisites.

Answer 332

The 1993 Tax Act.

Question 333

The simplest, easiest to maintain Section 125 plans. They create no new benefits.

Answer 333

Premiums-Only Plans (POPs)

Question 334

Benefits of using POPs

Answer 334

POPs (Premium Only Plans)

• easiest to maintain
• premium automatically deducted from employees’ salaries before taxes are taken out.
• the above decreases employee’s taxable income by the amount contributed
• employee pay less in taxes and have more take-home money pay
• with employee pretax income lowered, employers and employees also pay less Social Security (FICA) payroll taxes

Question 335

This type of 529 plan allows savers (account holders) to lock in future tuition at participating in-state public colleges and universities at current prices.

Answer 335

Prepaid tuition plan

Question 336

Extra pay for working holidays or vacation days.

Answer 336

Premium pay.

Question 337

Two types of IRS responses to taxpayers’ questions on an interpretation of the law in light of the taxpayer’s particular situation.

Answer 337

• Revenue rulings ( general guidelines to all taxpayers)

- Private-letter rulings (to specific taxpayers or organizations)

Question 338

Which of the following coverage situations exemplifies a HIPPA change to COBRA?

a. ) Reduction in tax penalties against employers who fail to provide the certificates of coverage when an employee leaves the organization
b. ) COBRA’s 11-month disability coverage continuation extension
c. ) Exclusion of a newborn of a covered employee
d. ) Extension of the allowable gap in coverage from 60 days to 90 days to waive preexisting condition exclusions

Answer 338

b.) HIPAA clarifies that all qualified beneficiaries are entitled to purchase the additional 11 months of continuation coverage - for a total of 29 months - if they are disabled at any time during the first 60 days of COBRA coverage.

Question 339

Form of insurance carried by employers for their employees that provides a lump-sum payment to the employees’ beneficiaries.

Answer 339

Group-term insurance

Question 340

FLSA’s white-collar exemption categories.

Answer 340

• executive
• administrative
• professional
• computer
• outside sales

Question 341

This type of defined benefit plan bases benefits on the average earning during a specified number of years immediately prior to retirement.

Answer 341

Final-pay formula.

This plan provides the greatest inflation protection and the greatest cost to the employer.

Question 342

Which of the following job evaluation methods would provide a small organizations with quick and inexpensive way to compare one job to another?

a. ) Ranking
b. ) Paired comparison
c. ) Point-factor
d. ) Factor comparison

Answer 342

a.) Job ranking is a fairly quick, inexpensive method of job evaluation and is easily explained to managers and employees.

Question 343

Advantages of paired-comparison job evaluation method.

Answer 343

used when there are many jobs to evaluate.

Question 344

How long must the payroll records be kept.

Answer 344

Under the Fair Labor Standard Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, employer must retain payroll records for three years.

Question 345

Some cash awards are paid as a lump sum. These awards may be:

Answer 345

• Discretionary bonuses (based on evaluator’s assessment)
• Performance-based incentives (measured against predetermined objective)
• Formula-based incentives - typically based on a percentage of profits

Question 346

Gifts, awards, trips, prizes, and other forms of merit awards used to recognize individuals for their performance, special contributions, or length of service.

Answer 346

non-cash reward programs

Question 347

What should be the compensation basis for a sales representative whose time is spent acquainting potential customers with the organization’s product line and providing technical assistance?

Answer 347

Base salary that represents a large percentage of compensation.

Question 348

Situation where employer contributes stock or cash or provides employee discounts to buy stock.

Answer 348

Non-leveraged ESOPs (Employee stock-ownership plans)

Question 349

What is the retirement age where one will receive Social Security benefits?

Answer 349

Workers and their spouses can begin receiving benefits at age 62 at a reduced rate. The full retirement age is 67 for persons born in 1960 or later. (65 for those born in 1937, and 66 for 1943-1954)

Question 350

Examples of Indirect Compensation (benefits)

Answer 350

• Legally required benefits
• Retirement income replacement programs
• Disability insurance and income protection
• Hospital and medical benefits
• Deferred pay
• Pay for time not worked
• Unpaid leave
• Flexible benefit plans
• Non-cash recognition and achievement awards
• Perquisites

Question 351

What type of determinations can Wage and Hour Division f DOL issue in regards to Davis-Bacon Act.

Answer 351

• A general determination - for a geographic areas

- A specific determination - for a specific contract

Question 352

Organizations excluded from FLSA

Answer 352

• The military
• Very small family owned and operated businesses
• Family farms

Question 353

Main groups of the IRS 11-Factor Test

Answer 353

• Behavior control
• Financial control
• Relationship of the parties

Question 354

Behavioral control factors in the IRS 11-Factor Test

Answer 354

• Instructions the organization gives the worker (when, where and how)
• Training the organization gives the worker

Question 355

Financial control factors in the IRS 11-Factor Test

Answer 355

• The extent which the worker has unreimbursed business expenses
• The extent of the worker’s investment
• The extent to which the worker makes services available to the relevant market
• How the organization pays the worker
• The extent to which the worker can realize a profit or loss

Question 356

What is the minimum weekly pay for an exempt worker?

Answer 356

$455 weekly or $23,660 annually

Question 357

Act that made significant changes in employee benefit programs, especially retirement plans.

Answer 357

Tax Reform Act 1986

Question 358

Three exemption criteria an exempt employee must meet.

Answer 358

• Minimum salary ($455 weekly)
• Paid on a salary basis without improper deductions
• Exempt duties

Question 359

Which of the following is not considered a statutory deduction?

a. ) Medicare
b. ) Federal income tax
c. ) 401(k) contributions
d. ) Disability insurance

Answer 359

c.) 401(k) contributions
There are three main categories of payroll deductions: Voluntary, Involuntary, and Statutory. 401(k) contributions is the correct answer to this question because although it is a deduction, it is considered a voluntary deduction rather than a statutory one.

Examples of the three types of deductions include:

Voluntary: 
health benefit contributions
401(k) contributions
union dues
contributions to charities designated by employees
Involuntary:
Debt garnishment
Child support garnishment
Statutory: 
Social Security
Medicare
Federal income tax
State income tax
Unemployment insurance (in some states)
Disability insurance (in some states)
Other state and local taxes

Question 360

Name compensable factors included in the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act used fr point-factor job evaluation.

Answer 360

• Skill
• Responsibility
• Effort
• Working conditions
• Supervision of others

Question 361

Which of the following non-quantitive job evaluation methods is most complex, and therefore rarely used.

Answer 361

Factor comparison method.

It is best used in the limited instances when wages are steady over time and the organization uses a flat rate for each job.

Question 362

A system used to identify compensable factors, developed in the 1970s by the U.S. government.

Answer 362

The Factor Evaluation System (FES); includes factors such as knowledge required, supervisory controls, guidelines, complexity, scope and effect, personal contacts, purpose of contacts, physical demands, and the work environment.

Question 363

Examples of defined benefit plans.

Answer 363

• Flat-dollar formula
• Career-average formula
• Final-pay formula
• Cash balance plan

Question 364

Replaces a portion of lost income for a specified period of time for employees who are ill or have non work-related injuries.

Answer 364

Short-term disability (STD) coverage

Question 365

Act that added Sections 125 and 401 (k) to the Tax Code.

Answer 365

Revenue Act

Question 366

Two examples of consumer-directed health-care programs.

Answer 366

• health reimbursement accounts (HRA)

- health savings accounts (HSA)

Question 367

Imposed a mandatory 20% federal income tax withholding requirement on most qualified retirement plan proceeds that a recipient does not roll over into another qualified retirement plan or individual account.

Answer 367

Unemployment Compensation Amendments (UCA)

Question 368

What are COLAs often based on.

Answer 368

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Question 369

Which act established Coverdell ESAs

Answer 369

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), previously known as Education IRSa, were originally established by the Taxpayer Relief Act and then subsequently expended by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act.

Question 370

This type of 529 plan allows the saver (account holder) to establish an account for a future student (beneficiary). Plans typically offer a variety of investment options (e.g., stock mutual funds, bond mutual funds)

Answer 370

College savings plans.

The deferred savings may be used for expense at any college.

Question 371

Name a non-taxable direct compensation.

Answer 371

• wages paid after death in a new calendar year.

Question 372

Examples of non-taxable indirect compensations.

Answer 372

• business expenses (if accounted for in timely manner)
• Child care (up to $5,000) under Section 129 plan
• Company vehicle (business use only)
• De minimis fringes ($25 or less)
• Life insurance (if employee pays premium with after-tax dollars)
• Group life insurance plans providing $50,000 or less coverage
• Educational expenses reimbursements up to annual stat. limits
• Employee discounts on employer goods/services
• Medical/dental/health plans (employer contributions)
• Direct moving expenses (up to deductible amount)
• No-additional-cost services
• Employee-paid disability benefits (if purchased in after-tax dollars)

Question 373

Examples of taxable indirect compensations.

Answer 373

• Employee paid disability benefits (if purchased in pretax $$)
• Disability benefits (if employer pays the premiums)
• Life insurance (if employee pays premium with pretax $$)
• Educational expenses in excess of statutory limits
• Gifts, prizes, and awards over certain dollar amounts
• Unsubstantiated employee business expenses
• Commuter expenses in excess of $245/month
• Parking expenses in excess of $245/month
• Personal use of company vehicle
• Sick pay

Question 374

IRS’s general rules on golden parachute.

Answer 374

To the extent that the severance payments equal or exceed three times the executive total compensation, they:

• Will subject the executive to an excise tax in addition to the income tax
• May not be deductible by the employer

Question 375

Under an organization’s health plan. employees are not required to submit claims if they go to participating doctors and hospitals since these providers are direct employees of the health-care provider. This type of health-care plan is most likely a(n):

a. ) PPO
b. ) commercial insurance plan
c. ) IPA model HMO
d. ) staff model HMO

Answer 375

d.) staff model HMO

Staff model HMOs directly employ staff physicians and other health-care professionals.

Question 376

Provide examples of managed care plans.

Answer 376

• Group model HMO
• Staff model HMO
• Preferred provider organizations (PPOs)
• Point-of-service (POS) organizations
• Exclusive provider organizations (EPOs)
• Physician hospital organizations (PHOs)

Question 377

Which of the following defined benefit plans is portable for the employee?

a. ) Flat-dollar formula
b. ) Cash balance plan
c. ) Final-pay formula
d. ) Career-average formula

Answer 377

b.) Cash balance plan is a type of defined benefit plan; it expresses the promised benefit in terms of hypothetical account balance. Cash balance plans have become popular because the benefit can more easily be communicated to participants and the accrued benefit is portable.

Question 378

Type of relationship aspects in the IRS 11-Factor Test

Answer 378

• Written contract describing the relationship the parties intended to create
• Whether the organization provides the worker with employee-type benefits, such as insurance, a pension plan, vacation, or sick pay
• The permanency of the relationship
• The extent to which services performed by the worker are a key aspect of the regular business of the organization.

Question 379

Does the Davis-Bacon Act protect all workers?

Answer 379

The law applies to laborers and mechanics who are employed on a particular project. Trainees and apprentices may be paid less than the predetermined rates under certain circumstances.

Question 380

Under this type of defined benefit plan, the plan pays a set dollar amount for each year of service under the plan.

Answer 380

Flat-dollar formula.

This type of formula is usually seen in plans covering hourly-paid employees under a collective bargaining agreement.

Question 381

Under ERISA, when is the annual report (form 5500) on a qualified benefit plan due to be filed with the DOL?

a) Two months after eligibility of the plan
b. ) Three months after establishment of the plan
c. ) Seven months after the end of the plan year
d. ) One year after plan features have changed

Answer 381

c.) Generally, once a plan has 100 or more participants as of the beginning of the plan year, there is a Form 5500 filing requirement.
Form 5500 is the annual report filed with the DOL seven month after the end of the plan year.

Question 382

Used for CEOs who take a position with an organization wit the advance knowledge that the position could be terminated due to restructuring or direction change.

Answer 382

“Golden Handshake”

Question 383

Sometimes offered to executives of a company being acquired, to ensure that they remain with the reorganized company.

Answer 383

“Golden Lifejacket”

Question 384

Under ERISA, each employee is entitled to receive the following communication automatically.

Answer 384

• Summary plan description (SPD)
• Summary annual report (SAR)
• Summary of material modifications (SMM)

Question 385

Due within 210 days after the end of the ERISA plan year whenever any of the plan’s features have been significantly changed.

Answer 385

Summary of material modifications (SMM).

Question 386

Contains ERISA’s financial information about the plan (due seven months after end of the plan year).

Answer 386

Summary annual report (SAR)

Question 387

Contains information on what the ERISA plan provides and how it operates. It is due within 120 days after the establishment of the plan or 90 days after eligibility and must be updated no less frequently than once every five years.

Answer 387

Summary plan description (SPD)

Question 388

Which of the following benefits would typically pay the salary of an employee who is out of work for 225 days while recovering from an illness?

a. ) Employer-provided sick leave
b. ) Short-term disability coverage
c. ) Long-term disability insurance
d. ) Paid leave of absance

Answer 388

c.) Long-term disability insurance usually begins after the short-term coverage expires, which typically lasts up to six months.
225 days is longer than 6 months.

Question 389

Which of the following reports must be sent to employees automatically?

a. ) Summary plan description (SPD)
b. ) Annual report (Form 5500)
c. ) Compa-ratios
d. ) Workers’ compensation notice

Answer 389

a.) Summary plan description is one of three required communication notices to employees according to ERISA and it is due within 120 days after the establishment of the plan or 90 days after the eligibility.

the other two are:

• Summary annual report (SAR), and
• Summary of material modifications (SMM)

Question 390

In which of the following does the employer take on the role of the insurance company and assume some or all of the risk?

a. ) self-funded plan
b. ) HMO
c. ) PPO
d. ) Indemnity plan

Answer 390

a.) If an organization has a self-funded health-care plan, the employer takes on the role of the insurance company and assumes some or all of the risk.

Question 391

Options employer have for administering a self-funded plan include the following.

Answer 391

• administrative-service-only (ASO)

- Third-party administrator (TPS) plan

Question 392

In this type of health-care plan, the risk is assumed by the employer; the employer hires only the claims department of the insurance company.

Answer 392

Administrative-services-only (ASO) plan

Question 393

In this type of health-care plan, the employer assumes the risk; the employer utilizes an independent (not-insurer-related) claims department.

Answer 393

Third-party administrator (TPA) plan

Question 394

ERISA’s eligibility requirements for retirement plan.

Answer 394

• attainment of age 21
• completion of 12 months of service

An organization can lower the thresholds.

Question 395

Tools used during a benefit needs assessment.

Answer 395

• questionnaires and surveys
• benchmarking
• trend analysis

Question 396

Employee completes ___ and receives ____; Independent contract completes ___ and receives ____ .

a. ) W-4, W-2, W-9, 1099
b. ) W-2, W-4, W-9, 1099
c. ) 1099, W-2, W-9, W-4
d. ) W-4, W-9, 1099, W-2

Answer 396

a.) Employee completes a W-4, and receives a W-2

Independent contractor completes a W-9, and receives a 1099

Question 397

The main or most important duty of the position as an important part of FLSA status exemption.

Answer 397

Primary duty.

Although no particular percentage of exempt duties is required under FMLS, the lower the total percentage of exempt duties, the greater the legal risk to the employer if challenged by the Department of Labor.

Question 398

FLSA Overtime Executive exemptions.

Answer 398

An employee must have a primary duty to

• manage an enterprise, department or subdivision
• direct the work of at least two full-time employees or equivalent
• hire, discipline, promote, or fire employees
• give “employment recommendations”

Question 399

FLSA overtime Administrative exemptions

Answer 399

• performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customer
• exercise of discretion
• independent judgment related to “matters of significance”

Question 400

FLSA overtime Learned Professional exemptions.

Answer 400

• Requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning that is required by prolonged instruction.
• Work requires exercise of discretion and judgment
• Work in a field of science or learning

Question 401

FLSA overtime Creative Professionals exemptions.

Answer 401

• must meet minimum salary requirements.
• perform work that requires invention, imagination, originality, or talent in a recognized field of creative or artistic development. (music, writing, acting, graphic arts, journalists)

Question 402

FLSA’s requirement exemption of a Highly Compensated Employee (HCE)

Answer 402

• perform office or non-manual work
• make an annual salary of $100,000 or more that includes at least $455 per week paid on a salary or fee basis
• perform one of the duties of an exempt (executive, administrative, professional employee)

Question 403

FLSA exemptions requirements for outside sales workers

Answer 403

• must have a primary duty involving making sales or obtaining orders and contracts
• be customarily and regularly engaged away form the employer’s place of business

Outside sales employees are not subject to the minimum salary requirements or other exemptions.

Question 404

FLSA’s safe-harbor provisions for improper deductions

Answer 404

• employer has a “clearly communicated policy” that prohibits improper pay deductions and includes a complaint mechanism
• Reimburses employees for any improper deductions
• makes a good-faith effort to comply in the future

an exempt employee is normally not subject to deductions for illness in less than full-day increments (an FMLA exception may occur)

Question 405

Specific non-exempt jobs

Answer 405

• First responders (Fire, police, paramedics, correctional officers, park rangers)
• Insurance adjusters (likely administrative exempt)
• Financial service industry workers (likely administrative exempt)
• Human Resources Managers (who do not exercise discretion and independent judgment)
• nurses (registered nurses, licensed by a state board - exempt)
• Technologists and technicians

Question 406

Compensatroy Time as it applies to overtime - main provisions.

Answer 406

• in general, overtime must be paid cash at a rate of 1.5 times
• public-sector employers (federal, state, and local government) may grant compensatory time off at a rate of no less than one and on-half hours for each hour of OT
• public safety employees (police, fire fighters, etc) can accumulate up to 480 hours of compensatory time
• other public-sector employees - up to 240 hours

Question 407

FLSA Child Labor Provisions

• under age 14

Answer 407

• prohibited from most non-farm work
• may be employed by parents, except in hazardous industries, manufacturing, or mining
• certain jobs permitted (actors, newspaper carriers)

Question 408

FLSA Chile Labor Provisions

• ages 14-15

Answer 408

• during school hours, work no more than 3 hrs/day, 18/week
• school vacations, work no more than 8 hrs/day, 40/week
• work hours restricted to 7:00 am - 7:00 pm (to 9:00 pm from June 1 to Labor Day)

Question 409

FLSA Child Labor Provisions

• ages 16-17

Answer 409

• prohibited from working on hazardous jobs such as operating trash binders, shredders, or material-handing equipment
• on other hourly restrictions

Question 410

FLSA minimum wage provisions exceptions

Answer 410

• $2.13 cash wage if earned tips
• Employee younger than 20 in first 90 days of employment
• Full-time students in retail/service
• Students learned at an accredited college, school, etc.
• Mentally or physically impaired with DOL certificate

Question 411

Which act addressed OT questions of:

• before and after work
• on-call/standby time
• preparatory/concluding activities
• waiting times
• meals and breaks
• travel time
• training time

Answer 411

Portal-to-Portal Act intended to address OT questions and provided guidelines on above issues

Question 412

WOTC main provisions

Answer 412

• Federal income tax credit that encouraged employers to hire people for 9 targeted job seekers
• can reduce federal tax liability
• paid during the first 12 months of work for qualified employees who have completed a set number of hours or days of work
• some provisions extended by America Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
• administrated by DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and IRS

Question 413

As a result of Dodd-Frank Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) set forth the following rules for publicly traded companies.

Answer 413

• in proxy or other shareholder consent materials
• executive compensation packages
• company financial performance
• total compensation for the CEO as compared to the median of all the companies employee compensation package
• compensation committee to be truly “independent”

Question 414

Which of the following philosophies would en entitlement-oriented organization embrace?

a. ) Lifelong employment
b. ) Individual rewards
c. ) Bringing in new talent
d. ) Performance-driven pay

Answer 414

a.) lifelong employment

In a entitlement-oriented organizational culture, less emphasis is put on individual employee contributions, initiative, and responsibility.

Question 415

Which of the following strategies will NOT reduce employer heath-care costs?

a. ) Promoting a wellness program
b. ) Eliminating time lapses on preexisting conditions
c. ) Establishing a gatekeeper system
d. ) Conducting utilization reviews

Answer 415

b.) Eliminating time lapses on preexisting conditions.

Question 416

Instrument often used to determine COLAs.

Answer 416

COLAs (cost-of-living-adjustments) are often based upon the consumer price index (CPI).

Question 417

Advantages of properly applied internal equity.

Answer 417

• Meets employees’ needs for a fair wage and adequate benefits
• Recognizes employees’ contributions to the organization
• Rewards equal work with equal pay
• Does not discriminate against protected classes

Question 418

A salary offered based on widely published salary survey data for a less-skilled position in a locale with an abundant labor pool would most likely equate to which of the following market percentiles?

a. ) 25th percentile
b. ) 50th percentile
c. ) 60th percentile
d. ) 75th percentile

Answer 418

a.) The situation is called lagging of the market.
Organizations may be able to lag the market (deliberately establish their pay rates levels below those offered by other employers) when the supply of talent is greater than demand.
When using survey data, lagging the market typically equates to the 25th percentile of the market.

Question 419

Job-to-job comparison job evaluation methods.

Answer 419

• Job ranking (non-quantitative)

- Factor comparison (quantitative)

Question 420

Job-to-predetermined standard comparison job evaluation methods.

Answer 420

• Job classification (non-quantitative)

- point-factor method (quantitative)

Question 421

Which of the following health plans allows an employee to roll over unused account balances form year-to year?

a. ) Premium-only plans
b. ) Flexible spending accounts
c. ) Full cafeteria plans
d. ) health reimbursement plan

Answer 421

d.) “Rolling over” the remaining unpaid funds into the next year is one of the advantages of Health Reimbursement Accounts plan.

Question 422

If a Professional in Human Resources wanted to perform a review using a system that combined performance ratings the employee’s position and salary range to recommend an amount of increase, which of the following would they be usning?

a. ) Job pricing
b. ) A merit matrix
c. ) A salary survey
d. ) Broadbanding

Answer 422

A merit matrix is commonly developed by HR as a tool for managers to use in planning increases for their work units. A merit matrix combines a performance rating with the employee’s position in the salary range to recommend the amount of increase.

Broadbanding is a salary structure that splits positions in the company into just a few specific pay ranges.

Salary surveys allow organizations to gather compensation and benefits data that reflects current trends in the labor market. Surveys are often provided by professional services vendors or compensation consulting firms.

Job pricing is used to determine the appropriate pay level for a position and occurs when a new job is created or an existing job has undergone changes.

Question 423

The Financial Accunting Standards Board (FASB) was established as a

Answer 423

… private body to determine how financial executives should report their firms’ financial information to their shareholders.

Question 424

Based on focus group data collected from health plan participants and beneficiaries, employee insurance disclosure documents are revised to improve their visual appeal and utility. These actions relate to which PPACA provision?

a. ) Preventive care
b. ) Dependent coverage
c. ) State health marketplaces
d. ) Uniform explanation of coverage

Answer 424

d.)
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Ac’s (PPACA) of 2010 Uniform explanation of coverage provision requires employers to provide participants and plan beneficiaries a summary of benefits and coverage (not to exceed 4 pages) prior to enrollment, re-enrollment, or prior to delivery of the certificate of coverage.

Question 425

List components of a total rewards system.

Answer 425

• direct compensation (pay systems)

- indirect compensation (benefit and recognition programs)