First, define what it is that is being asked.
"of" in mathematics usually means that the numbers or values described are being multiplied.
And so the word problem becomes:
126 employees = 3% * x employees
Solve:
126 = .03 * x
x * .03 = 126
(x * .03) / .03 = 126 / .03
x = 4200 employees
Thus your answer is 4200 employees.
Your answer is 4,200 employees.
If 126 is equivalent to 3%, then we can say that 126/? = 3/100, which you can then use to find the answer by doing 126 ÷ 3 = 42, and then multiplying 42 by 100 to get 4,200.
I hope this helps!