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Employment Requirements — California C-20 Practice Questions

46 questions · 20% of the Law & Business exam

Worked questions

1. Which fact supports genuine independent-contractor status more than a contract label?

  • AThe contractor chooses every method and hour
  • BThe worker receives an employee handbook
  • An independently established business
  • DThe worker has no other business activity

Why C is correct

Classification depends on statutory tests and actual control, business independence, and work performed. A written label alone cannot waive employee protections.

2. Supervisors issue oral warnings inconsistently and retain no training or follow-up record. Why should the system be documented?

  • ATo avoid correcting hazards
  • BTo fabricate a reason after termination
  • To document facts and follow-up
  • DTo replace wage records

Why C is correct

The best answer is: To document facts and follow-up. Contemporaneous, consistent documentation supports fair management and shows what instruction or corrective action occurred. Records must be truthful and separate from retaliation. The new fact pattern changes the setting, not the governing rule or management control. The other choices either skip a required step, apply a different rule, or fail to address the stated risk.

44 more in the bank

Answers and explanations for these are in the app.

  • A contractor hires its first employee. What insurance issue becomes immediate?
  • A contractor labels a controlled full-time crew as independent contractors but directs their schedule, methods, and tools. What must be evaluated?
  • A contractor plans a layoff at the end of a project. What should be resolved before the separation date?
  • A foreman requires an employee to use a personal phone and vehicle for company business. What should payroll administration evaluate?
  • A new employee is assigned unfamiliar powered equipment. What must the employer do?
  • A newly promoted superintendent now hires, disciplines, and schedules a large crew. What control should accompany the promotion?
  • A payroll check is correct, but the employee receives no itemized wage statement. What should the employer correct?
  • A supervisor pressures crews to skip required breaks to meet schedule. What is the issue?
  • A supervisor says construction workers never receive California paid sick leave. What is the appropriate management response?
  • A worker reports a job injury but the supervisor doubts the account. What should management do?
  • A worker reports repeated harassment by a superintendent. What is the most defensible employer response?
  • After adding an employee to payroll, which compliance task belongs in the onboarding checklist?
  • An applicant is rejected solely because of a protected characteristic unrelated to job duties. What is the problem?
  • An employee repeatedly violates a documented safety rule. What management response is most defensible?
  • An employee reports unpaid overtime and is removed from all scheduled work the next day. What risk should management address?
  • An employee works overtime that violated company preapproval policy. May the employer simply refuse to pay the worked time?
  • Before ending employment, what should the employer verify?
  • What should an employer provide and document when hiring an employee?
  • Who is responsible for employer payroll reporting and deposits when a payroll service is used?
  • Why are accurate time and payroll records essential?
  • Why should hiring, training, evaluation, discipline, and separation records follow a consistent retention process?
  • Why should performance warnings and training be documented consistently?
  • A crew member works only for one contractor, follows its schedule, uses its tools, and is trained in its methods, despite receiving a 1099. What determines proper status?
  • A foreman must use a personal vehicle and phone for company assignments but receives no reimbursement review. Which obligation should administration evaluate?
  • A new employee starts fieldwork without receiving wage terms, tax forms, policies, or safety information. What onboarding control is needed?
  • A new hire is told to operate a powder-actuated tool after watching another employee once. What must occur before independent operation?
  • A newly promoted supervisor now controls hiring, schedules, discipline, leave, and complaints but receives no compliance instruction. What training should accompany the role?
  • A payroll processor files returns for the company, but a tax deposit is missed. Who retains the underlying employer compliance responsibility?
  • A planned project-end layoff is tomorrow, but final hours, accrued amounts, deductions, and notices remain unresolved. What should payroll finish before separation?
  • A qualified applicant is rejected because of a protected trait that has no bearing on essential work functions. Which employment principle applies?
  • A schedule requires crews to work through legally required meal and rest periods to meet a milestone. Does schedule pressure excuse compliance?
  • A sole proprietor who previously had no employees puts one helper on payroll. Which coverage obligation now requires immediate verification?
  • A superintendent is accused of repeated harassment, and management tells the complainant to “work it out” while cutting the complainant's hours. What response is required?
  • A supervisor refuses to provide claim information after a worker reports an injury because no one witnessed it. What should management do?
  • A supervisor states that paid sick leave never applies to construction labor. What is the correct compliance approach?
  • A worker has several customers, advertises independently, invests in tools, negotiates price, and controls how services are delivered. Which fact pattern matters more than the contract label?
  • An hourly employee works two extra hours after a supervisor denies advance authorization. May the employer refuse to pay those compensable hours because policy was violated?
  • Before discharging an employee today, payroll has not reviewed hours, accrued amounts, deductions, or statutory timing. What should be verified first?
  • Employees receive the correct net deposit but no statement of hours, rates, deductions, and required employer information. What must payroll provide?
  • Personnel documents are scattered, selectively destroyed, and unavailable for lawful employee inspection. Which records control should be established?
  • The company places a new employee on payroll but never completes the state new-hire reporting step. What belongs on the onboarding checklist?
  • The day after reporting unpaid overtime, an employee loses all scheduled shifts without a documented business reason. Which risk should management investigate?
  • Timecards omit meal periods, overtime hours, and corrections even though net pay is being calculated. What compliance control is missing?
  • Two employees commit the same documented safety violation, but only the employee who complained about wages is disciplined. What management approach would be defensible?

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