California employment law moves fast. Policies, handbooks, offer letters, independent contractor rules, leaves of absence, and terminations all carry real risk if they’re not handled thoughtfully. Law Laguna provides non-litigation employment & HR counseling for employers, helping leadership and HR teams make day-to-day decisions with confidence.
Employment decisions are business decisions
Law Laguna’s employment & HR consulting is advisory and transactional, not litigation. We draft, review, and update the documents that govern the workplace, build structures to reduce disputes, and stand next to you when sensitive situations arise, while bringing in employment litigators from our network if and when you need them.
Core employment & HR consulting services
Employment contracts & offer letters.
Clear, California-compliant agreements for exempt and non-exempt employees, executives, and part-time staff, including at-will language, bonus structures, and protective provisions.
Executive employment & severance agreements.
Structured offers, retention plans, and separation agreements for leaders and key personnel, tailored to your business, compensation, and transition goals.
Employee handbooks & HR policies.
Custom handbooks, policy suites, and updates addressing California requirements (meal/rest periods, leaves, harassment prevention, remote work, and more).
Independent contractor & gig worker compliance (AB 5 and beyond).
Classification analysis, contractor agreement templates, and risk-reduction strategies for flexible workforces and project-based talent.
Wage-and-hour structure & timekeeping practices.
Practical guidance on overtime, meal and rest breaks, time tracking, and pay practices that align with California’s wage-and-hour rules.
Leaves of absence & accommodations.
Support for CFRA/FMLA leaves, disability accommodations, pregnancy-related leaves, and other protected time off, including documentation and manager communication.
Commission, bonus, and incentive plans.
Written commission plans, bonus structures, and sales incentives that satisfy California’s written agreement requirements and match how your teams are actually measured.
Confidentiality & invention assignment agreements.
NDAs and invention assignment agreements tailored to California’s rules on employee IP and post-employment restrictions.
Non-solicitation and employee mobility planning.
Business-minded strategies around non-solicitation, non-disparagement, and competition in a state that heavily restricts non-compete agreements.
Workplace investigations & misconduct response.
Guidance on internal investigations into harassment, discrimination, or code-of-conduct concerns, with clear next steps and documentation support.
Performance management & terminations.
Scripts, documentation, and risk-aware pathways for performance plans, separations, and reductions in force.
HR data, privacy & employee records.
Policies and practices for handling employee data and personnel files, aligned with California privacy and retention expectations.
Built for founders, leadership, and HR teams
Hiring a key executive, shifting to remote work, restructuring teams, or ending a relationship with a long-time employee are all legal questions and business questions at the same time. We help you navigate both sides, so your employment decisions support culture, compliance, and long-term strategy.
Founders & Business Owners
You want to grow the team without stepping into wage-and-hour landmines or signing templates that don’t fit California. We help translate risk into decisions you can actually make.
-
Clean, California-compliant offer letters and employment contracts.
-
Clarity on bonuses, commissions, equity, and incentives.
-
Guidance on difficult terminations and re-orgs.
HR & People Operations Leaders
You live in the details: policies, onboarding, leaves, investigations. We help keep those systems updated, documented, and defensible under California law.
-
Employee handbook drafting and multi-location updates.
-
Leave of absence, accommodation, and performance pathways.
-
Templates, playbooks, and escalation frameworks.
Growing, Multi-Location Employers
As headcount increases across regions or time zones, complexity follows. We help you standardize where you can, and adapt where California requires it.
-
State-specific addenda for California employees.
-
Classification and scheduling structures for varied roles.
-
Alignment between corporate policies and local practices.
How we work with employers on employment & HR
Outside employment counsel for ongoing needs
For many clients, we function as part-time in-house employment counsel available to your leadership and HR teams as issues come up, not just when something has already gone wrong.
-
Regular access to counsel for day-to-day HR questions.
-
Periodic reviews of policies, templates, and practices.
-
Coordination with your other practice areas (contracts, governance, transactions).
Scoped projects & document builds
Sometimes you need a focused project: a new handbook, updated offer letters, or a multi-location policy refresh. We scope these projects clearly and build with reuse in mind.
-
Defined deliverables, timelines, and fee expectations.
-
Templates and playbooks your team can apply going forward.
-
Training or walkthroughs so HR and managers know how to use what we built.
Issue-spotting & coordination with litigators
We are not a litigation firm, and we’re transparent about that. Our role is to reduce disputes where possible and prepare you well when outside litigators are needed.
-
Early issue-spotting and documentation strategy.
-
Referrals to trusted employment litigators when appropriate.
-
Ongoing involvement to keep the bigger business picture in focus.
Deep-dive employment & HR topics
Many clients first find us through a specific HR need. These pages dive deeper into common California employer questions:
Industry-Specific Overviews Across All Practice Areas
Employment and HR issues don’t look the same in a restaurant as they do in a SaaS startup, a clinic, or a nonprofit. Wage-and-hour risk, scheduling, remote work, commissions, and training requirements all shift depending on your sector and workforce.
Connected to your broader corporate counsel
Law Laguna’s employment work is built to fit within that larger picture, so your policies, contracts, and corporate records all tell the same story when it matters.
Employment & HR consulting – FAQs
Do you represent employers, employees, or both?
Law Laguna’s employment practice is focused on advising employers, founders, leadership teams, and HR. That focus allows us to build systems and documents around the realities of operating a business in California, rather than switching perspectives between sides of a dispute.
Do you handle employment litigation or administrative claims?
We provide non-litigation counseling. If a claim is filed (for example, a wage-and-hour suit or an administrative complaint), we help you understand options and then, where appropriate, connect you with trusted employment litigators. We stay involved to provide context and keep the business perspective aligned throughout.
Can you help us update an old handbook or set of policies?
Yes. Many engagements begin with a handbook and policy refresh. We review what you have, identify gaps or inconsistencies with current California law, and rebuild the structure in a way that reflects how your company actually operates, including remote work and multiple locations.
We have employees in multiple states. Can you still help?
We regularly advise companies with multi-state workforces, with a particular focus on California. We help you design baseline policies that work across the company, then layer in California-specific requirements and coordinate with local counsel in other states as needed.
How do you charge for employment & HR consulting work?
Wherever possible, we favor predictable structures. That might mean a recurring outside counsel arrangement, a flat-fee project (for example, a handbook build), or clearly scoped hourly work with estimates and regular updates. The goal is that invoices reflect the work and story you already know, never a surprise.
Can you help with a sensitive termination or performance issue?
Yes. We frequently advise on performance management and terminations, including documentation, talking points, and risk-aware options. When needed, we also coordinate with employment litigators to make sure the approach is defensible if challenged later.
Do you work with very small teams or only larger employers?
We advise companies of many sizes, from early-stage startups making their first hires to more established employers with growing HR teams. The work is tailored to your stage: right-sized structures at the beginning, and more formal systems as you scale.
How do we get started with Law Laguna on employment & HR matters?
Most relationships begin with a short introductory call to understand your team, headcount, locations, and current priorities. From there, we propose either a scoped project (for example, offer letter templates plus a handbook refresh) or an outside employment counsel structure so you know exactly what to expect before any work begins.
Talk with Law Laguna About Your Employment & HR Counseling Needs
Share what your team is facing, and we’ll outline practical next steps, clear fees, and how we can support you as outside corporate counsel for California employment law and day-to-day HR decisions.
If you’re unsure whether your handbooks, policies, offer letters, or contractor arrangements still match how your company actually operates, Law Laguna can help you bring structure, clarity, and compliance to your workforce practices, before issues turn into problems.