Many multi-state employers believe their biggest challenge when operating in California is compliance. In fact, the true challenge isn’t compliance, it’s the lack of clarity around who owns people decisions. Employing people in California fundamentally changes how organizations must think about accountability. When California employees are a part of the workforce, decisions that may feel informal or manager-driven in other states often carry greater weight and greater consequences.
For many multi-state employers, the issue isn’t whether certain policies exist, but about who owns people decisions in what state, when HR needs to be involved, and how consistency is maintained across the organization. When accountability is unclear, even well-intentioned decisions can create inconsistencies, confusion, and unnecessary risk. California’s complex employment laws simply make these accountability gaps harder to ignore.
In multi-state organizations with California employees, accountability gaps tend to be more visible when the company’s headquarters are located elsewhere. To address these accountability gaps, multi-state employers can implement several practical strategies that clarify decision-making, reduce risk, and strengthen consistency.
Clarify Decision Ownership
The first step in closing accountability gaps is to clearly define who has authority to make each type of people decision and specify when HR needs to be involved and when escalation to leadership is required to ensure consistency across locations.
Involve HR and Legal Expertise Early
For multi-state employers with employees in California, it’s crucial to involve HR or an employment law attorney in decisions that could affect California employees, especially those involving performance, accommodations, pay, or discipline. Multi-state employers should treat HR and legal counsel as a proactive tool for clarity and consistency, not just when problems arise.
Treat California Employees as Part of the System, Not the Exception
Multi-state employers should also ensure that decisions affecting California employees are consistent, documented, and applied across the organization so that all employees experience the same clarity, fairness, and expectations.
Having employees in California doesn’t create accountability gaps, but it exposes them. The organizations that succeed in operating in California are the ones that use accountability as an opportunity to strengthen their systems. Multi-state employers that embrace clarity, consistency, and proactive collaboration can transform these challenges into stronger organizational practices that benefit all employees, not just those in California.
Brittanie Young, SHRM-SCP, is an HR Consultant with Employers Council's California Legal Services