California HR Advisory
California HR Compliance, Built for Small Business.
Fixed-fee HR projects and monthly advisory for California employers with 5–50 employees. Handbooks, compliance audits, leaves, investigations, and the kind of operator-grade advice you usually have to hire a director to get.
Monthly Advisory
Pick the level of HR support that fits.
Month-to-month after a 3-month initial commitment. Cancel anytime; we don't lock you in.
Compliance Shield
5 – 25 employees, simple workforce
$1,500/ month
- Annual handbook update
- Quarterly compliance review
- Unlimited email Q&A
- Monthly law-change brief
- Document library access
HR Director on Call
25 – 50 employees, hiring actively
$2,750/ month
- Everything in Compliance Shield
- Monthly strategy call
- Leave administration support
- Manager coaching by request
- Employee relations triage
- Performance review framework
Fractional HR Director
30 – 50 employees, complex needs
$4,500/ month
- Everything in HR Director on Call
- Weekly check-ins
- Investigation advisory included
- Termination management
- Full LOA administration
- Comp band design
- Manager training credits
Fixed-Fee Projects
One-time engagements with a clear deliverable.
The fastest way to work with us. Scope and price agreed up front — no hourly billing surprises.
HR Foundations Build
Custom handbook, core policy set, onboarding workflow, compliance audit, manager toolkit. The fastest way to go from "no HR" to compliant and confident.
CA Compliance Audit
Posters, wage statements, classifications, IIPP, harassment training status, leave administration, recordkeeping. Deliverable: a risk-ranked report and a remediation plan you can act on this quarter.
SB 553 Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Build
Site walkthrough, written site-specific WVPP, responsible-party assignments, Type 1–4 response procedures, violent incident log, and annual training delivery. Required for every CA employer with 10+ on-site employees since July 1, 2024.
Investigation Advisory & Documentation Support
We coach your HR lead through a defensible investigation: intake review, witness-interview question design, findings-memo template, and recommended-action calibration. Formal investigations are conducted by your HR or a licensed PI/attorney we'll refer.
Manager Training
AB 1825 / SB 1343 harassment prevention for supervisors, plus a Managing in California 101 session. Live + recorded, so your managers can refer back.
Leave-of-Absence Setup
Stand up CFRA / PDL / FMLA workflow, draft your notices and designation letters, and train the point person so the next leave doesn't blow up.
Job Description Library Build
8–15 role-aligned, exempt/non-exempt-correct job descriptions, EEO codes, and salary band placeholders. The foundation every other people system depends on.
Comp Band Design
Market benchmarking, ranges and tiers, pay-equity sweep, and a manager-ready communication framework — so raises stop being a debate and start being a decision.
Performance Review System Build
Review cycle design, manager and self-assessment templates, calibration playbook, and a rating distribution model your leadership team can defend.
IIPP Build / Refresh
Cal/OSHA-compliant written Injury & Illness Prevention Program, training agenda, and recordkeeping setup. Required for every CA employer regardless of size.
Termination Execution Support
Owner script and rehearsal, final-pay calc QA, separation packet assembly, severance + release drafting, and COBRA admin — so the conversation goes the way it needs to.
California Compliance Spotlight
Workplace Violence Prevention (SB 553)
Every California employer with 10+ on-site employees has been required to maintain a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan since July 1, 2024. We build them, train on them, and keep them current.
- Effective
- Plan required since July 1, 2024 — most CA employers
- Penalty range
- $16,285 – $162,851 per Cal/OSHA violation
- Annual obligation
- Training + plan review + 5-year incident log
What you get in an SB 553 engagement
- On-site walkthrough and site-specific hazard map
- Written plan compliant with Labor Code § 6401.9
- Type 1–4 violence response procedures
- Violent Incident Log + 5-year recordkeeping setup
- Annual employee training delivery (live, recorded)
- Responsible-party briefing for owner, manager, and HR lead
Plan Build
$1,500 – $3,000
per site, 2-week turnaround
Annual Training
$750 – $1,500
per session, in-person or live virtual
DIY Kits
Buy a kit. Be compliant by tomorrow.
For small employers who want the document — not the engagement. CA-current, attorney-reviewed templates with everything you need to use them properly.
New Hire Compliance Pack
$297
Every form a CA employer is required to give a new hire — populated, signed, and delivered.
- I-9, W-4, DE 4, wage notice
- Harassment policy acknowledgment
- Arbitration agreement (optional)
- Direct deposit + emergency contact
- Required CA brochures included
Termination Toolkit
$397
Walk out of a termination without creating a wage claim or a wrongful-termination call.
- Final-pay calc worksheet
- Separation letter templates
- COBRA / Cal-COBRA notices
- Severance + release template
- Exit interview script
CA Employee Handbook Kit
$497
Buy-it-yourself handbook template plus a 30-minute office-hours call to make it yours.
- CA-current handbook (English + Spanish)
- Acknowledgment form included
- Policy decision worksheet
- 30-min office hours with Grant
- 12 months of update notices
SB 553 WVPP Kit
$349
Self-serve Workplace Violence Prevention Plan for the CA employer who just needs to get compliant.
- Sanitized SB 553 plan template
- Site walkthrough checklist
- Violent incident log template
- Annual training agenda + sign-ins
- 30-min office hours with Grant
Kits are launching soon — let us know which one you want and we'll notify you when it's live.
Who you're working with
Operator-grade HR, not a generic compliance template.
Grant Yamada
Founder & Principal Advisor
I run HR for a California company by day. I built this practice because the small employers I keep meeting — restaurants, clinics, agencies, contractors — face the exact same compliance obligations as a Fortune 500, but without the budget for a real HR team.
The result is simple, fixed-fee work backed by a current operator's perspective, not a generic compliance template. You get the advice, the documents, and the playbooks an HR Director would build — without hiring one.
Frequently Asked
Questions before you book.
- Do you handle payroll?
- No. Payroll is a commodity and we don't compete with the providers who do it well. We will advise on policy, audit wage statements for compliance, and recommend partners like Gusto, ADP Run, or Paychex Flex based on your size and complexity.
- Are you a lawyer?
- No. We are HR practitioners, not attorneys, and nothing we provide is legal advice. For litigation, agency charges, or anything in front of the DFEH, EEOC, or Labor Commissioner, we refer to a California management-side employment attorney — and we'll support them with the HR side of the case.
- What size companies do you work with?
- California employers with 5 to 50 employees. That's the band where compliance obligations are non-trivial but hiring a full-time HR Director isn't yet justified.
- Why California-only?
- Because California employment law is its own discipline. PAGA, CFRA, PDL, paid sick leave by city, CPRA, Cal/OSHA — a multi-state generalist can't keep up, and our clients shouldn't pay them to try. Multi-state employers with CA staff are welcome; we focus exclusively on the California side.
- What's a Risk Check?
- A free 30-minute call where we walk through the top three HR risks specific to your business, your size, and your industry. You leave with a one-page snapshot and a clear sense of what (if anything) you should do about it. There's no obligation to hire us afterward — and many people don't need to.
- How fast can you start?
- Most engagements begin within a week of signing. The Foundations Build delivers in 4–6 weeks; audits in 2–3 weeks; an SB 553 plan build delivers in 2 weeks; investigation advisory begins within 48 hours of intake.
- Do I really need a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan?
- If you have 10 or more employees working on-site in California, yes — it's been required since July 1, 2024 under SB 553 / Labor Code § 6401.9. The plan has to be written, site-specific, accessible to all covered employees, paired with annual training, and supported by a violent incident log kept for 5 years. Cal/OSHA penalties range from $16,285 to $162,851 per violation.
- Do you conduct the actual investigation?
- No. Under California Business & Professions Code §§ 7520–7539, external workplace investigations must be conducted by a licensed private investigator or a licensed attorney. We scope investigation work as advisory and documentation support for your HR lead, and we refer to a licensed PI or management-side employment attorney when a formal investigation is required.
Not sure if you have an HR problem?
Book a 30-minute Risk Check. We'll show you the top three exposures for a company your size in your industry — no obligation, no up-sell, just a clear read on where you stand.