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Free PHRca Practice Questions

10 free, exam-style Professional in Human Resources - California (PHRca) (PHRca) practice questions with answers and explanations. No signup required. Work through them below, then take the full free PHRca practice test to study every exam domain.

The PHRca exam has 115 questions and runs 2 hours 15 minutes.

These 10 free PHRca questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Professional in Human Resources - California (PHRca) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.

Domain 1: Compensation/Wage and Hour 21% of exam

Question 1

A non-exempt employee works 14 hours in a single workday. It is the third consecutive day worked that week. How many of those 14 hours must be paid at the double-time rate?

  1. None, because double time applies only on the 7th consecutive workday
  2. 2 hours, for the time worked beyond 12 in the day
  3. 6 hours, for all time worked beyond the standard 8
  4. 8 hours, matching the standard workday length
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - 2 hours, for the time worked beyond 12 in the day

Question 2

An employer pays a manager an annual salary of $72,000 and classifies the position as exempt. The manager spends roughly 70% of the workday performing the same tasks as the hourly staff they oversee. Which statement is MOST accurate regarding this classification for 2026?

  1. The classification is valid because the salary exceeds the $70,304 threshold
  2. The classification is valid because the employee holds a manager job title
  3. The classification is likely invalid because the duties test is not met
  4. The classification is invalid because California bans all salaried managers
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - The classification is likely invalid because the duties test is not met

Question 3

An employer terminates an employee, effective immediately, at 3:00 p.m. on a Tuesday. Under California law, when are the employee's final wages due?

  1. On the next regularly scheduled payday
  2. Within 72 hours of the effective termination time
  3. Immediately, at the time of the termination
  4. Within three business days of the termination
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Immediately, at the time of the termination

Question 4

A non-exempt employee's shift begins at 8:00 a.m. Under California law, by the end of which hour of work must the employer generally provide the first 30-minute meal period, absent a valid waiver?

  1. The end of the 4th hour of work
  2. The end of the 5th hour of work
  3. The end of the 6th hour of work
  4. Whenever the employee chooses to request it
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - The end of the 5th hour of work

Question 5

An employer misses a non-exempt employee's meal period. The employee earns a base hourly wage plus a nondiscretionary monthly production bonus. Following Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel (2021), the one-hour meal-period premium must be paid at:

  1. The base hourly rate the employee is normally paid
  2. The applicable state or local minimum wage rate
  3. One and one-half times the employee's base hourly rate
  4. The regular rate of pay, which includes the nondiscretionary bonus
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D - The regular rate of pay, which includes the nondiscretionary bonus

Domain 2: Employment Lifecycle and Employee Relations 26% of exam

Question 6

A California employer with 40 employees is reviewing a job applicant. Under the California Fair Chance Act, at what point may the employer FIRST ask about the applicant's criminal conviction history?

  1. On the initial written employment application form
  2. During the applicant's first in-person interview
  3. After extending a conditional offer of employment
  4. Only once the applicant has actually been hired
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - After extending a conditional offer of employment

Question 7

An employee signs an otherwise reasonable agreement stating they will not work for a competitor within California for one year after leaving. Their role involves no trade secrets. Under California law, this non-compete provision is generally:

  1. Enforceable, provided it is limited to a single year
  2. Enforceable, provided the geographic scope is reasonable
  3. Enforceable, but only against exempt salaried employees
  4. Void and unenforceable as an unlawful restraint on trade
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D - Void and unenforceable as an unlawful restraint on trade

Question 8

Under California's SB 1343, an employer with 5 or more employees must provide sexual harassment prevention training to supervisory employees. How much training is required, and how often?

  1. One hour of training, repeated every single year
  2. One hour of training, repeated every two years
  3. Two hours of training, repeated every two years
  4. Two hours of training, repeated every single year
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Two hours of training, repeated every two years

Question 9

During a job interview, an applicant is asked nothing about pay history, but voluntarily discloses their current salary. Under California's salary history law, the employer may:

  1. Use the figure the applicant disclosed to set the starting salary
  2. Require pay stubs from the applicant to verify the disclosed figure
  3. Not rely on that prior salary to justify a pay disparity
  4. Ask detailed follow-up questions about the applicant's prior bonuses
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Not rely on that prior salary to justify a pay disparity

Question 10

The California WARN Act (Cal-WARN) generally requires 60 days' advance notice of a covered mass layoff. Compared with the federal WARN Act, which threshold makes Cal-WARN apply to MORE employers?

  1. It covers establishments that employ 75 or more persons
  2. It covers only establishments employing 100 or more persons
  3. It requires the layoff to affect at least one-third of staff
  4. It applies solely to layoffs of 500 or more employees
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A - It covers establishments that employ 75 or more persons

The rest of the PHRca blueprint

The PHRca exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:

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