ALA Human Resources Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A law firm wants to reduce turnover among associate attorneys. Which HR metric would most directly measure the effectiveness of retention initiatives?
- Time-to-fill for open positions
- Voluntary turnover rate by tenure cohort (Correct answer)
- Cost-per-hire for lateral associates
- Number of performance improvement plans issued annually
Correct answer: Voluntary turnover rate by tenure cohort
Voluntary turnover rate segmented by tenure cohort directly reveals whether retention initiatives are keeping employees longer; it distinguishes between employees who choose to leave and those involuntarily separated.
Question 2: When designing a benefits package, a legal administrator must comply with which ERISA requirement regarding plan documents?
- All benefit plans must be fully funded exclusively through employee contributions
- Plan administrators must provide participants with a Summary Plan Description (SPD) within 90 days of eligibility (Correct answer)
- Benefit plans are only required for firms with more than 250 employees
- Plan documents must be filed with the Department of Labor every two years
Correct answer: Plan administrators must provide participants with a Summary Plan Description (SPD) within 90 days of eligibility
ERISA requires that plan administrators furnish a Summary Plan Description (SPD) to participants within 90 days after they become covered, detailing plan benefits, eligibility, and participant rights.
Question 3: A legal administrator is conducting a job analysis for a new litigation support specialist role. What is the PRIMARY purpose of a job analysis?
- To determine the compensation benchmark for the role based on geographic market data
- To systematically collect data on the tasks, duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required for a position (Correct answer)
- To evaluate the performance of the current employee holding the position
- To create a succession plan for the position in case of turnover
Correct answer: To systematically collect data on the tasks, duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required for a position
Job analysis is the systematic process of collecting information about a job's tasks, duties, responsibilities, and required qualifications, forming the foundation for recruiting, compensation, and performance management.
Question 4: Which approach to progressive discipline is most appropriate when an employee is discovered falsifying timekeeping records at a law firm?
- Issue a verbal warning and place a note in the file
- Follow the standard three-step progressive discipline process starting with a verbal warning
- Consider immediate termination, as falsification of records is typically a terminable offense (Correct answer)
- Require the employee to attend an ethics training course before returning to work
Correct answer: Consider immediate termination, as falsification of records is typically a terminable offense
Falsifying timekeeping records is a serious integrity violation that undermines the firm's billing accuracy and client trust; most law firm policies treat this as gross misconduct warranting immediate termination, bypassing progressive steps.
Question 5: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what is an employer's obligation when a qualified employee with a disability requests an accommodation?
- The employer must grant any accommodation the employee requests regardless of cost
- The employer must engage in an interactive process to identify effective accommodations unless they cause undue hardship (Correct answer)
- The employer may deny all accommodations if the disability was pre-existing at the time of hire
- The employer's obligation begins only after the employee has been with the firm for at least one year
Correct answer: The employer must engage in an interactive process to identify effective accommodations unless they cause undue hardship
The ADA requires employers to engage in a good-faith interactive process with the employee to identify reasonable accommodations that allow performance of essential job functions, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.
Question 6: A law firm's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy should primarily focus on which HR practice to produce measurable long-term results?
- Hosting annual diversity awareness events and distributing informational materials
- Integrating DEI criteria into recruiting, promotion, performance evaluation, and leadership development systems (Correct answer)
- Creating a separate DEI committee that operates independently from HR and management
- Requiring all employees to complete a one-time implicit bias training
Correct answer: Integrating DEI criteria into recruiting, promotion, performance evaluation, and leadership development systems
Sustainable DEI outcomes require embedding equity and inclusion criteria into core HR systems—recruiting, promotion criteria, performance evaluations, and leadership pipelines—rather than relying on standalone events or one-time training.
Question 7: Which document is most critical to have on file before an employee's first day of work to comply with federal employment eligibility verification requirements?
- Signed offer letter
- Completed Form I-9 (Correct answer)
- Social Security card photocopy
- Background check authorization form
Correct answer: Completed Form I-9
Federal law (Immigration Reform and Control Act) requires employers to complete Form I-9 to verify each employee's identity and authorization to work in the U.S.; it must be completed no later than the first day of work.
ALA Human Resources Management 2
A law firm wants to reduce turnover among associate attorneys.
Which HR metric would most directly measure the effectiveness of retention initiatives?