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SPHR Questions - Part 61

Jenny Clarke

Thu, 23 Apr 2026

1. Which of the following scenarios is an example of discrimination in a disparate treatment?

A) An employee requests off from work because of a religious holiday. The manager agrees but asks the employee to make up the work the employee will miss.
B) An organization requires all newly hired employees to have college degrees even though a degree is not needed to perform all jobs within the organization.
C) An employee requests off from work because of a religious holiday. The manager agrees but scrutinizes the work the employee does after the holiday. The manager does not inspect the work of other employees who did not ask off for the holiday.
D) An organization requires all newly hired employees to have college degrees for certain positions within the company.



2. Jennifer is an HR Professional and she's telling Hal about sexual harassment issues at their workplace. Jennifer wants to distinguish between the types of sexual harassment in this conversation. What are the two categories of sexual harassment Jennifer should address?

A) Overt and Covert
B) Open and close
C) Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Work Environment
D) Hostile Work Environment and Covert



3. What is the minimum amount of employees an organization must have to be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990?

A) All organizations are covered by this act and must abide by its requirements
B) 15
C) 45
D) 100



4. Fran is a HR Professional for her organization and she is interviewing applicants for a warehouse position. One of the candidates has written on his application that he speaks Spanish. Fran interviews this candidate in Spanish and interviews all other candidates in English. This is an example of what?

A) Perpetuating past discrimination
B) Disparate impact
C) Disparate treatment
D) Accommodation



5. Samantha applied as an outside sales rep for a new sales territory. Part of the selection process included an assessment test that measures successful sales characteristics. Samantha scored particularly high on the test. During the interview, Christopher, the hiring manager, had some concerns about how wellSamantha would fit into the company culture, but when he learned how high she scored on the test, he immediately decided to hire her. What bias could be at work in this situation?

A) Halo effect
B) Knowledge-of-predictor effect
C) Cultural-noise effect
D) Stereotyping effect



1. Right Answer: C
Explanation: Answer option C is correct.When the manager inspects a persons work who asked for the time off for the religious holiday, but doesn't inspect the work of other persons who didn't ask for the time off, it's likely a case of disparate treatment.Answer option A is incorrect. The manager isn't treating the worker differently, just asking for the worker to complete their assignments as required by the work.Answer option B is incorrect. This is an example of disparate impact, not disparate treatment.Answer option D is incorrect. This is not an example of discrimination as the company is requiring college degrees for certain positions, not all positions.Reference: Professional in Human Resources Certification Study Guide, Sybex, ISBN: 978-0-470-43096-5. Chapter Four: Workforce Planning. Official PHR andSPHR Certification Guide, HR Certification Institute, ISBN: 978-1-586-44149-4, Section III, The US Body of Knowledge.Chapter: Workforce Planning and EmploymentObjective: Federal Employment Legislation

2. Right Answer: C
Explanation: Answer option C is correct.The two categories of sexual harassment are quid pro quo and hostile work environment. Quid pro quo describes a scenario where employment can be based on the acceptance or refusal of sexual advances. A hostile work environment describes unwelcome sexual conduct that interferes with a person's ability to complete their work, intimidation, or an offensive work environment.Answer option A is incorrect. Overt and covert are not valid sexual harassment terms.Answer option B is incorrect. Open and close are not valid sexual harassment terms.Answer option D is incorrect. A hostile work environment describes unwelcome sexual conduct that interferes with a person's ability to complete their work, intimidation, or an offensive work environment. Covert, however, is not a valid sexual harassment term.Certification Guide, HR Certification Institute, ISBN: 978-1-586-44149, Section III, The US HR Body of Knowledge.Chapter: Workforce Planning and EmploymentObjective: Federal Employment Legislation

3. Right Answer: B
Explanation: Answer option B is correct.The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires organizations that have 15 or more employees to abide by this law.Answer option A is incorrect. This law does not affect organizations with less than 15 employees.Answer option C is incorrect. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 applies to all employers with 15 or more employees, not 45.Answer option D is incorrect. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 applies to all employers with 15 or more employees, not 100.Certification Guide, HR Certification Institute, ISBN: 978-1-586-44149, Section III, The US HR Body of Knowledge.Chapter: Workforce Planning and EmploymentObjective: Federal Employment Legislation

4. Right Answer: C
Explanation: Answer option C is correct.Technically this is an example of disparate treatment. Fran has treated this applicant differently than the other applicants because the person says he speaksSpanish.Answer option A is incorrect. There is no evidence of past discrimination in this example to make this choice correct.Answer option B is incorrect. The disparate impact happens when a seemingly neutral policy has a disproportionately negative effect on the protected class.Answer option D is incorrect. Accommodation is not a valid term for this scenario.Certification Guide, HR Certification Institute, ISBN: 978-1-586-44149, Section III, The US HR Body of Knowledge.Chapter: Workforce Planning and EmploymentObjective: Federal Employment Legislation

5. Right Answer: B
Explanation: Answer option B is correct.The knowledge-of-predictor effect occurs when an interviewer is aware that a candidate has scored particularly high or low on an assessment test and allows this to affect the hiring decision. The halo effect (A) occurs when the interviewer allows a single positive characteristic of the candidate to overshadow other considerations. Cultural noise (C) occurs when a candidate gives answers they think the interviewer wants to hear. Stereotyping (D) occurs when the interviewer makes assumptions about a candidate based on generalizations about the group the candidate belongs to (for example, women). See Chapter 4 for more information.Chapter: Workforce Planning and EmploymentObjective: Staffing Programs

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