Successfully hiring in California isn’t just about finding the right person for the job — it’s about doing it by the book.
With some of the most complex employment laws in the country, California employers face steep legal and financial risks if they get it wrong. This educational guide is your step-by-step guide to hiring with confidence, clarity, and compliance.
Whether you're a small business owner, HR professional, or startup founder, this guide breaks down the critical stages of hiring into three easy-to-follow modules:
✔️ Before You Hire
Learn what you must do before posting a job or interviewing candidates. We cover creating effective job descriptions, creating job interview questions, navigating job classification (at-will employment, and exempt or non-exempt), and more — so you're set up for success.
✔️ Hiring Employees
From offer letters and employee handbooks to arbitration agreements, understand what’s required by law and what’s just best practice. We'll guide you through essential compliance steps to avoid common pitfalls.
✔️ Basic Immigration Compliance
Hiring someone legally authorized to work in the U.S. is not optional. This module explains your obligations under federal immigration law — including how to correctly complete and retain the Form I-9 — as well as responding to Form I-9 audits and workplace immigration raids.
Unmatched value at a one-time fee.
This comprehensive guide delivers over 150 pages of California-specific hiring guidance — all for a one-time fee of $299. That’s a fraction of what you’d pay for even a single hour with an employment attorney.
Here’s why it’s a smart investment:
1. Practical Content: This isn’t fluff. Every page is packed with detailed, California-specific information that you can actually understand.
2. One-Time Purchase, Long-Term Value: With just one payment, you get indefinite access to information that can protect your workplace from lawsuits, penalties, and compliance headaches — potentially saving you thousands.
3. Created by an Attorney and HR Pro: This resource was developed by a California-licensed attorney who is also SHRM-CP certified and has worked with hundreds of employers across industries. That unique combination of legal expertise and real-world HR experience means you’re getting not just theory, but truly practical resources you can apply immediately.
Whether you're hiring your first employee or your fiftieth, this guide pays for itself the first time you avoid a legal misstep.
Includes lessons on these topics and more.
- Designing Job Descriptions
- What's a Job Description and Why is it Important?
- Understanding "Essential Functions"
- What NOT to Ask in a Job Interview (and What You Could Ask Instead)
- Understanding At-Will Employment in California
- Understanding "Exempt" Employees in California
- The Three Big Ways to Classify An Employee as Exempt
- Less Common Paths to Exemption
- Background Checks in Employment
- The Employer's Right to Request Driver's License from Job Applicants
- Comprehensive Illness and Injury Prevention Programs and Why YOU Need One
- California’s COVID-19 Prevention Requirements
- Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Requirements
- Hiring Documents: The Offer Letter + Job Description
- Hiring Documents: The Employee Handbook
- The Back and Forth of Arbitration Agreements in California
- Understanding How the Private Attorneys General Act Affects Arbitration Agreements
- New Hire Notices and Pamphlets
- Preparing Your Timekeeping System
- Timelines for Employee Record Keeping
- Preparing Your Personnel Record System
- What to Include in Personnel Records
- Memorializing Conversations for Personnel Records
- The Right to Inspect Personnel Records in California
- Restrictive Covenants (Non-Competes! Non-Solicts!) in California
- New Hire Orientation Tips and Onboarding Checklist
- I-9 Verification: Read This Before Your First Employee's First Day!
- I-9 Verification: Restricted Social Security Cards
- Preparing for Form I-9 Audits and Immigration Raids