If you've ever tried to manually track what's required across multiple states, you know how fast things get missed — not because you weren't paying attention, but because this changes constantly and there's no single place that keeps it all current. Arbiter HR is that place. State-by-state compliance references backed by 20 years of expertise in payroll, benefits, and wage & hour law.
"I'm amazed — the automation and thoughtful design are exactly what I've been missing. This solves the problem of tracking every state as things come up in our organization."
— HR Professional, Financial ServicesIf compliance questions land on you and you don't have a dedicated legal resource, this was built for your situation.
You're it. Every compliance question, every state-specific situation, every termination — it all lands on your desk. You need fast, reliable answers without a two-week wait for a lawyer's memo.
You process payroll across multiple states and the rules are different everywhere. When a garnishment order arrives or a new state law takes effect, you need the right answer before the next pay run.
You didn't hire for HR, but you're handling it. Onboarding, terminations, leave requests, and every compliance question in between — you need a reference you can trust without a law degree to read it.
You support multiple business units across different states. When a situation arises, leadership expects a fast, confident answer. These references get you there before the meeting starts.
Most HR professionals have Googled a compliance question, called a lawyer, or tried to build their own reference. The problem isn't the instinct — it's what each approach costs you.
A blog post from 2021 summarizing a law that has since been amended in 14 states. No statute citation. No way to know if it's current. You're making a compliance decision based on a summary of a summary.
Every reference is sourced directly from statute and updated monthly. You see the law, the effective date, and the specific rule — organized by state, ready the moment something comes up.
A lawyer can get you the right answer — but they bill $400+ per hour for the same research, the call takes days to schedule, and you needed the answer before this afternoon's termination meeting.
$27–37 one-time. Download in 30 seconds. Reference in the meeting. When laws change, your workbook updates automatically — no additional charge, no calendar invite required.
Hours of work per topic, per state — and you still don't know what you're missing. Employment law changes quarterly. Staying current across 50 states is a full-time job on top of the full-time job you already have.
The research is already done. All 50 states, 10 topics, organized the way a 20-year compliance professional would organize it — and updated every month so you never have to wonder if it's still current.
Two areas where getting it wrong creates immediate legal and financial exposure — for the employer personally.
Miss your state's final pay deadline and you don't just owe the wages — you owe penalties. In California, that's one day's pay for every day late. In Massachusetts, treble damages. This reference gives you every state's deadline, every separation type, PTO payout rules, and required documentation before the meeting happens.
Ignore a garnishment order and you become personally liable for the full amount owed. Improperly calculate the withholding and you've violated federal law. This reference covers CCPA limits, state exemptions by type, priority rules when multiple orders arrive, the IRS levy worksheet, and child support calculations — everything you need before you touch payroll.
Every reference updated monthly as laws change — at no additional charge, ever.
Know your state's deadline before the termination meeting. Miss it and you owe penalties on top of wages. Covers all separation types, PTO payout rules, required documentation, and penalty exposure — all 50 states.
22 states mandate paid leave — and the rules vary dramatically. Know your employer threshold, contribution rates, benefit amounts, and which laws are taking effect before an employee asks for leave you didn't know you had to provide.
14 states now require salary ranges in job postings — and most cover remote candidates too. Post a job without the range in a covered state and you're exposed before you even hire someone. Know what to disclose, when, and for whom.
Ban the Box laws restrict when you can ask about criminal history. Credit check laws restrict who you can screen. Use either incorrectly and adverse action requirements apply — and violations can be per-applicant. Know the rules before you run a check.
The FTC's nationwide ban was struck down — which means 50 different state laws now govern what you can enforce. Some states void them entirely. Others require specific salary thresholds. Know where yours stand before you ask anyone to sign one.
29 states mandate breaks for adult employees — and the rules aren't uniform. Miss a required break in California and you owe one hour of premium pay per violation, per employee, per day. Know your state's requirements before a wage claim finds them first.
8 jurisdictions now require advance schedule notice — some as much as 14 days. Post a schedule late and you owe predictability pay. Change it last minute and you owe more. If you have hourly workers in any covered city or state, this reference belongs in your toolkit.
Every new hire must be reported to your state — including contractors in many cases. Every state has a different deadline and required data set. Miss the window and you face per-hire fines. This reference gives you every state's deadline, required fields, and contractor rules in one place.
Ignore a garnishment order and you're personally liable for the debt. Withhold too much and you've violated federal consumer protection law. This reference covers CCPA limits, state exemptions, garnishment priority when multiple orders arrive, the IRS levy worksheet, and child support calculations.
40+ federal deadlines across ACA, COBRA, ERISA, and plan notices — mapped by month so nothing gets missed. Miss a COBRA notice deadline and the employee retains coverage rights indefinitely. This calendar exists so you don't find out the hard way what you were supposed to send.
Three curated bundles — built around the actual compliance moments HR teams face most.
Monthly updates on the state compliance changes that matter most to HR and payroll professionals. No noise — only what changed, which states it affects, and what it means for you.
New and updated state laws, effective dates, and what you need to do differently.
When your purchased references update, you'll know exactly what changed.
Join HR and payroll professionals who stay ahead of state law changes.
Arbiter HR references are built from 20 years of active practice in multi-state payroll administration, wage & hour compliance, benefits management, and employment law. These aren't summaries of summaries — they're the working references a compliance professional builds over two decades of real situations across food service, edtech, financial services, and real estate.
Every reference is the expert-built, automatically-updated version of what HR professionals have always tried to build themselves. Sourced directly from statute, organized for the moment something comes up, and updated monthly so you never have to wonder if it's still current. No subscription. No login. No noise.
"I'm amazed — the automation and thoughtful design are exactly what I've been missing. This solves the problem of tracking every state as things come up in our organization."