CDMS Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: D

End his employment because his FMLA leave is exhausted: Exhausting FMLA does not end ADA obligations; separation without considering more leave risks a violation.

Require a full-duty release before approving more leave: A full-duty (100% healed) requirement can violate the ADA when the employee could work with accommodation.

Approve more unpaid leave only if he asks for it in writing: A request for leave need not be in writing or use special words to trigger the interactive process.

Evaluate 8 more weeks of leave as an ADA accommodation: Correct. EEOC guidance treats additional unpaid leave as a possible reasonable accommodation after FMLA ends, absent undue hardship; a definite return date supports it.

When FMLA leave ends, evaluate further leave as an ADA reasonable accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship.

Answer: C

Ask the physician to shorten the 4-week period of lifting limits: Asking a provider to change restrictions for the employer's convenience oversteps the specialist's role.

Advise the worker to stay on leave until the employer allows full duty: Accepting the employer's position abandons a willing worker and lengthens the claim.

Propose a 4-week modified plan framed by the cost of the absence: Correct. Interest-based negotiation links the employer's interest (cost) to a time-limited modified plan that respects the restrictions and the worker's wish to return.

Tell the employer the ADA requires it to create a light-duty job: This misstates the law; the ADA generally does not require an employer to create a new light-duty position.

Negotiate on interests: show the employer what the absence costs and offer a time-limited plan within restrictions.

Answer: B

HIPAA applies because the note contains health information: HIPAA applies to covered entities; health information that an employer holds in its role as employer is an employment record, not protected health information.

HIPAA does not apply, but ADA confidentiality rules still apply: Correct. Employment records held by an employer are excluded from protected health information, but the ADA (and FMLA) require medical information to be kept confidential and filed separately.

HIPAA applies because the employer's plan is self-insured: The self-insured health plan is a covered entity, but the employer's HR file is not part of the plan.

No federal law limits how the employer may use the note: ADA confidentiality rules limit access and require separate, confidential medical files.

HIPAA covers health plans, clearinghouses and providers, not employment records; ADA (and FMLA) confidentiality still governs medical information the employer holds.

Answer: C

Ask the physician to recheck restrictions against the job: Collaborative, but the restrictions are clear and undisputed; the barrier is that no modified work has been offered, which rechecking restrictions does not fix.

Ask the physician to move the full-duty release date forward: Pressing for an earlier full release oversteps the specialist's role and risks reinjury.

Help the employer design a temporary transitional assignment: Correct. The barrier is the lack of modified work, which also feeds the worker's sense of rejection. A time-limited transitional assignment addresses both and restarts recovery.

Wait for the full-duty release and then plan the return: Waiting lets the worker's disengagement grow; the longer the absence, the lower the odds of return.

When restrictions exist but no work is offered, the barrier is in the workplace: build transitional work with the employer rather than waiting for full duty.

Answer: B

STD replaces wages, and FMLA does not apply to work injuries: Most STD plans exclude occupational injuries, and FMLA covers any serious health condition, including a work injury.

Workers' compensation pays benefits, and FMLA leave may run concurrently: Correct. The injury is work-related, so workers' compensation provides medical and wage-loss benefits. She meets FMLA eligibility (50+ employees, 12 months, 1,250 hours), so the employer may designate the absence as FMLA leave running concurrently.

Workers' compensation pays benefits, and FMLA cannot run at the same time: FMLA leave may run concurrently with a workers' compensation absence when the employer designates it.

STD replaces wages, and workers' compensation covers only medical bills: Workers' compensation includes indemnity (wage-loss) benefits as well as medical care.

A work injury triggers workers' compensation for income and medical care; if the employee is FMLA-eligible, the employer may run FMLA concurrently for job protection.

Answer: A

Graded activity combined with education about fear of reinjury: Correct. Fear-avoidance is a psychosocial (yellow-flag) barrier; graded activity with reassurance and education directly targets it and is the evidence-based response to delayed recovery without structural findings.

A repeat MRI to reassure him that the shoulder is intact: Repeat imaging without new findings tends to reinforce the belief that something is structurally wrong; it does not treat the fear.

An IME to determine whether he has reached maximum medical improvement: MMI addresses medical stability, not the fear-avoidance belief that is keeping him off work.

When recovery stalls without structural cause, look for yellow flags such as fear-avoidance and treat them with graded activity and education rather than more testing.

Answer: B

Install an elevator before the employee returns: Making facilities accessible is a type of accommodation, but an elevator may be an undue hardship when an effective lower-cost option exists; the employer may choose among effective options.

Set up a comparable break area on the first floor: Correct. An accessible break area with similar amenities gives equal access to the benefit of employment and is effective at reasonable cost; the employer may choose it over a costlier option.

Let the employee take breaks at the workstation: This denies equal access to a benefit and privilege of employment that coworkers enjoy, so it is not an effective accommodation.

Employees with disabilities are entitled to equal access to the benefits and privileges of employment, including break rooms; the employer may choose any effective accommodation.

Answer: C

covered, because any perceived impairment qualifies under the law.: The "regarded as" prong excludes impairments that are both transitory and minor.

covered, because the employer must accommodate him.: Even when "regarded as" coverage applies, it gives no right to reasonable accommodation.

not covered, because the impairment is transitory and minor.: Correct. A "regarded as" claim fails when the impairment is transitory (actual or expected duration of 6 months or less) and minor, as a 3-week sprain is.

not covered, because he is not substantially limited.: Since the ADAAA, "regarded as" claims do not require proof of substantial limitation.

"Regarded as" needs no substantial limitation, excludes transitory (≤6 months) and minor impairments, and carries no right to accommodation.

Answer: C

The FMLA, as intermittent leave for a serious health condition: The FMLA does not cover an employer with fewer than 50 employees, and she has fewer than 12 months of service.

The FMLA, once she completes 12 months of service: Even with 12 months of service, the firm is too small to be covered by the FMLA.

The ADA, through leave as a reasonable accommodation: Correct. The firm is covered by ADA Title I (15+ employees), and intermittent leave for treatment can be a reasonable accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship.

No federal law, because the firm has fewer than 50 employees: The 50-employee threshold is the FMLA's; the ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees.

When the FMLA does not apply (under 50 employees or employee ineligible), leave may still be required as an ADA reasonable accommodation at employers with 15+ employees.

Answer: B

Posting the accommodation policy on the company intranet: Making the policy available is useful but passive; it does not show whether the policy works for the people it serves.

Asking a disability ERG to review policies and messages: Correct. Employees with lived experience can identify barriers in policies and communications that program staff miss, which builds trust and inclusion.

Adding a diversity statement to every job posting: A statement signals intent but does not change how the program serves current employees.

Employee resource groups give employees a voice in program design and communication, a core inclusion strategy.

Answer: B

Deny intermittent leave during peak call periods: Approved, medically necessary intermittent leave cannot be denied because of business demand.

Enforce usual call-in rules and staff for expected episodes: Correct. Employers may require employees to follow usual call-in procedures, absent unusual circumstances, and can plan staffing around certified frequency.

Require a new certification after each absence: Recertification is limited (generally no more often than every 30 days in connection with an absence); each absence is too often.

Require two weeks' notice for every intermittent absence: Notice for unforeseeable leave is due as soon as practicable; two weeks cannot be required for flare-ups.

Employers manage intermittent leave through usual notice and call-in rules, limited recertification and staffing plans, not by denying protected leave.

Answer: C

FMLA-eligible, because she has over 12 months of service.: Twelve months of employment is only one test; she must also have 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months.

FMLA-eligible, because the hospital has 50+ employees.: Employer coverage is met, but the employee must still meet her own eligibility tests.

not FMLA-eligible, though ADA leave may be considered.: Correct. At 1,100 hours she fails the 1,250-hour test, but leave may still be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA if her condition is a disability.

FMLA-eligible for a prorated share of 12 workweeks.: FMLA has no prorated entitlement for employees who miss the hours test.

FMLA eligibility needs all three tests: 12 months of employment, 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months and 50 employees within 75 miles. When FMLA fails, consider ADA leave.