The city reserves the right to search, without employee consent, all areas and properties over which the City maintains joint or full control. All City vehicles, equipment, offices, desks and lockers are subject to search by management. Searches shall be conducted in the presence of the employee, if practical. If the employee is not available, or if the employee so requests, a reasonable time will be allowed for a representative to be present before a search is conducted. The limitations to the City’s right to examine City property contained in this paragraph does not apply to property used jointly by more than one (1) employee.

1. According to the above passage, the City does not have the right to:

A. Search all City vehicles, equipment, offices, desks and lockers without the employee’s consent.

B. Search all areas and properties over which the City maintains full or joint control without the employee’s consent.

C. Establish longer work schedules.

D. Search without giving the employee reasonable time for a representative to be present during the search.

The correct answer is D. The passage makes it clear that the City may search as described in A and B. Work schedules, as detailed in C, can be extended or otherwise changed by management, however, that was never mentioned in the passage so can be considered a wrong answer.

In most written tests, the passage is located on the same page as the questions and the applicant is allowed to return to the passage for assistance in answering the question. Keep in mind, though, that not all departments may allow this and, if not, may disqualify an applicant for returning to a previously read portion. If the directions provided are unclear, be sure to ask the test proctor for further explanation.