From Forensic Audits to Ongoing Counsel
we protect your business at every stage of the compliance lifecycle.
Forensic Wage Audits
A forensic audit identifies what is already in your payroll data before a plaintiff's attorney does.
Most California employers are not non-compliant because they are careless. They are non-compliant because California’s wage and hour framework is genuinely complex, changes constantly, and generates compounding penalties that bear no relationship to the underlying violation.
What We Audit
Employee Classification
Independent contractor vs. employee status, exempt vs. non-exempt determinations, and associate or partner employment arrangements that may constitute a de facto employment relationship under California law.
Meal and Rest Break Compliance
Late lunches triggering the 4:59 Rule, short lunches under 30 minutes, missed rest periods, on-duty meal period agreements, and AB 1513 rest period line item requirements for commission and piece-rate workers.
Wage Statement Accuracy
Missing rest period line items under LC §226, incorrect pay period dates, hourly rate disclosure for piece-rate workers, and wage statement deficiencies that trigger per-violation statutory penalties.
Final Pay Compliance
Waiting time penalties under LC §203, late final paychecks, and unpaid premiums at termination — the single most common trigger for compounding exposure.
Time Tracking Systems
Timeclock lockout settings, rounding practices, and off-the-clock work patterns identifiable in the data.
Overtime Calculation:
Daily vs. weekly overtime, double-time calculations, and alternative workweek agreement compliance.
The Deliverable
You receive a written audit report with employee-level detail, pay-period-by-pay-period violation analysis, statutory citations, maximum exposure calculations, and realistic settlement estimates based on current enforcement trends. The report includes a prioritized remediation roadmap.
Attorney-Client Privilege
The audit is conducted under attorney-client privilege and constitutes attorney work product. If litigation arises, our findings are not discoverable. This is a material distinction from audits conducted by HR consultants, payroll companies, or compliance training platforms — whose findings can be subpoenaed and used against you.
Compliance Counseling
Ongoing advisory that keeps you current as the law changes and monitors for drift after remediation.
Remediation is not a one-time event. Businesses that successfully address violations after an audit often drift back into non-compliance within 12 to 18 months — not because of bad intent, but because no one is actively monitoring. That drift is precisely what plaintiff's attorneys look for.
Advisory Services Cover
→ Hiring & Onboarding Compliance →Leave Management Protocols
→ Wage & Hour Practices Review → Performance & Discipline Guidance
→ Clean Exit Termination Strategy → Required New Hire Disclosures
→ 2026 Transparency Mandates → Policy Updates for New Legislation
Strategic Risk Mitigation
Employee Handbooks
Not generic templates. Handbooks that reflect your actual pay practices, your timekeeping system, your industry, and the current state of California law — reviewed and updated as the law changes.
Arbitration & Class Action Waivers
Properly drafted arbitration agreements that comply with California's enforceability requirements and limit your exposure to individual claims rather than class or representative actions.
Wage Theft Prevention Notices
Required at hire and upon any change in pay rate. We ensure yours are accurate, current, and properly documented.
Clean Exit Termination Protocols
Final pay, COBRA notices, separation documentation, and the sequencing of termination steps that eliminates the most common source of waiting time penalties.
Ongoing Manager training
Because the largest violations typically originate at the supervisory level.
The structural protections that reduce exposure in the event of a future claim.
Compliance is the floor. Risk mitigation is the architecture you build on top of it. Employers who have completed a forensic audit and remediated existing violations still need structural protections that reduce their exposure in the event of a future claim.
Our forensic audits are powered by a proprietary compliance analyzer that models your exact exposure in real time. Learn more →