Question 1

Is this legal advice?

Accepted Answer

No. HireStates is compliance software, not a law firm. We help you understand the rules and generate document templates - but we strongly recommend reviewing final documents with a licensed employment attorney, especially for your first hire.

Question 2

How current is the compliance data?

Accepted Answer

Our compliance database covers current California and New York state law and all major city ordinances. We review and update the data as legislation changes to keep your documents accurate.

Question 3

Which states and cities are covered?

Accepted Answer

California: All 25 major jurisdictions including the state baseline plus San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, San Diego, and 20+ more cities. New York: State law plus NYC and other major jurisdictions. We are actively expanding city coverage for New York.

Question 4

Is our company data stored securely? We're subject to GDPR.

Accepted Answer

Yes. HireStates is hosted in the EU (Frankfurt). We are GDPR-compliant by design, do not sell data to third parties, and offer a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) on Pro and Enterprise plans. Your documents and company data never leave EU infrastructure.

Question 5

Do we still need an employment lawyer?

Accepted Answer

For standard hires, many customers use HireStates documents as-is after a one-time legal review. For complex situations - executive contracts, equity compensation, or layoffs - we recommend involving counsel. HireStates reduces the hours your lawyer needs to spend, cutting legal costs significantly.

Question 6

Can we customize the generated documents?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All documents are fully editable after generation. Pro and Enterprise plans let you save custom clauses, upload company policies, and create branded templates. You own every document you generate.

California & New York Minimum Wage by City

By state

California cities

New York localities