Your Year-End HR Compliance & Risk Prevention Checklist

As 2027 approaches, California employers have more to think about than just new employment laws and minimum wage increases.

When was the last time you took a good look at your company’s HR practices, policies, and procedures?

Are your employee handbooks current? Are your employees properly classified? Are your hiring practices compliant? And what about those employee performance issues, leave requests, or workplace concerns you’ve been putting off because you’re not quite sure how to handle them?

Small HR oversights can turn into costly problems. The good news? Many are preventable with the right HR infrastructure and guidance.

Your 2027 California HR Checklist

How many of these can you confidently check off?

1. Employee Handbook & Employment Policies

Update your employee handbook to reflect applicable 2027 California employment laws.
Review sick leave, family and medical leave, bereavement leave, accommodation, and anti-harassment policies.
Update required workplace postings, employee notices, and acknowledgment forms.
Confirm your policies reflect applicable local ordinances and industry-specific requirements.

2. Wages, Payroll & Employee Classifications

Review the new California minimum wage of $17.40 per hour, effective January 1, 2027, along with any higher local or industry-specific rates.
Verify that exempt employees meet both the salary and duties requirements. The 2027 minimum annual salary for most executive, administrative, and professional exemptions is $72,384.
Review special exemption categories, including computer professionals, outside sales, commissioned sales, and other applicable occupations, which may have different requirements.
Audit overtime practices, meal and rest periods, timekeeping, payroll records, and final-pay procedures.

Remember: Paying someone a salary or giving them a manager title does not automatically make them exempt from overtime.

3. Recruiting, Hiring & New Hire Onboarding

Review job advertisements, interview questions, and hiring practices for compliance with discrimination, pay transparency, and applicable current yet evolving AI requirements.
Review automated or live human screening, recruiting, and applicant evaluation tools for potential bias and legal compliance.
Update your new hire checklist, offer letters, onboarding forms, and required employee handouts.
Confirm you’re using a currently valid Form I-9 and following proper employment eligibility verification procedures.
Review background check, reference check, and personnel file procedures (ensuring you never run a background check BEFOR making an employment offer).

4. Workplace Safety & Prevention Programs

Review and update your Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).
Review your Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP), if applicable, including required training, reporting procedures, incident logs, and annual review.
Confirm employees and supervisors have completed required workplace safety and harassment prevention training.
Review procedures for reporting, investigating, and responding to workplace complaints.

5. Employee Relations & Performance Management

Address ongoing performance problems you’ve been putting under the rug, hoping they’ll improve on their own.
Review performance evaluations, coaching practices, disciplinary procedures, and documentation.
Make sure managers know how to handle difficult employee conversations professionally and consistently.
Review unresolved employee complaints and workplace conflicts before they escalate.
Evaluate termination decisions for potential discrimination, retaliation, leave-related, or other legal risks.

6. Employee Leaves & Accommodations

Review how your company handles medical leave, pregnancy-related leave, disability accommodations, and protected time off.
Address complicated or unresolved leave requests before they become bigger problems.
Confirm managers understand when an employee’s request or disclosure may trigger legal obligations.
Review your interactive process, documentation, and return-to-work procedures.

Not sure what to do when an employee’s leave request gets messy? Or when a performance issue overlaps with a medical condition? That’s exactly when experienced HR guidance can make a difference.

7. Your Overall HR Infrastructure

Are your HR forms, templates, policies, and procedures current, organized, and consistently used?
Do you have clear procedures for hiring, onboarding, employee complaints, performance management, leaves, and terminations?
Are your managers properly trained to recognize and address HR concerns?
Are your employees properly trained and meeting harassment prevention and other state mandated training?
Do you have an experienced HR professional to call when an unexpected employee situation arises?

You Don’t Have to Do This on Your Own.

You don’t need a full-time HR department to have a strong HR infrastructure.

For a fraction of the cost of hiring even a part-time HR employee, fractional HR consulting can give your business access to an experienced team of HR professionals who understand California’s complex employment laws.

At CA HR Services and Nationwide HR Services, Inc., we help small and midsize businesses build practical, reliable HR systems designed to prevent problems before they become costly.

We can help you establish:

A solid HR foundation: Up-to-date employee handbooks, policies, procedures, forms, checklists, and ready-to-use templates.
Practical, no-nonsense HR processes: Straightforward systems for hiring, onboarding, performance management, employee relations, leaves, and terminations.
Proactive compliance support: HR audits, wage and hour reviews, employee classification assessments, and workplace safety programs.
Experienced HR guidance when you need it: A team of HR experts in your back pocket to help navigate difficult employee situations, answer questions, and support your managers.

No unnecessary bureaucracy. No complicated processes that nobody follows. Just practical, compliant HR solutions that make sense for your business.

Because your employees shouldn’t have to be HR experts, and neither should you.

Let’s Get Your HR House in Order for 2027.

Whether you need a comprehensive HR compliance review, an updated employee handbook, help resolving a difficult employee situation, ongoing fractional HR support, or want an on-call expert in your back pocket for a rainy day, we’re here to help.

Protect your business. Support your employees. Get back to running your company.

Contact CA HR Services to schedule a consultation and learn how we can help strengthen your HR infrastructure, without the expense of building an in-house HR department.

CA HR Services | Nationwide HR Services, Inc.

www.CAHRservices.com | info@cahrservices.com | 858-228-5535

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California Employers: Is Your HR in Order for 2027?