Know Your Company’s Stand.
Know where your company is exposed before it costs you 18 months.
Every week a founder makes a people decision without knowing what the documentation record behind it looks like. A termination. A manager conversation. A contractor renewed for another year. Most of those decisions are fine. The ones that are not surface three, six, twelve months later: when the record that was built during those weeks is the only thing standing between the company and what the claim costs. The diagnostic shows you that record before something else does.
experience
New EEOC discrimination charges filed last year alone.
The EEOC received 88,531 new charges against private sector and state/local government employers in FY2024: a 9.2% increase and the third consecutive year of growth. That is one channel. Add the federal sector: approximately 12,000 to 14,000 formal complaints filed annually across 277+ federal agencies, processed through a parallel system with its own investigation process, administrative judges, and appeal path. The Department of Defense alone employs 750,000 civilians. Add state FEPA charges processed only under state law: estimated 40,000 to 60,000 annually. Add pre-complaint EEO counseling contacts: in the federal sector alone, 36,356 counseling contacts were completed in FY2020 and only 38.5% converted to formal complaints. The EEOC received 88,531 new charges against private sector and state/local government employers in FY2024: a 9.2% increase and the third consecutive year of growth. That is one channel. Add the federal sector: approximately 12,000 to 14,000 formal complaints filed annually across 277+ federal agencies. The Department of Defense alone employs 750,000 civilians and processes hundreds of EEO complaints internally each year: a parallel system entirely separate from the EEOC published count. Add state FEPA charges processed only under state law: estimated 40,000 to 60,000 annually. Add pre-complaint EEO counseling contacts that resolve before a formal charge is ever filed. Total employment discrimination activity across all channels exceeds 300,000 annual filings. The 88,531 EEOC figure is the most visible number. It is not the total. Total employment discrimination activity across all channels exceeds 300,000 annual filings. The EEOC 88,531 figure is the most visible number. It is not the total. Federal agencies spent $51.6M on EEO investigations and $66.5M in monetary benefits in FY2020 alone. In most of those situations, the employer documentation record determines the outcome long before an attorney or investigator ever asks to see it.
Source: EEOC FY2024 Annual Report · Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
About We Do Here to Do
Every page on this site is built
for a specific founder situation.
Entry Point · Diagnostic
People Infrastructure Diagnostic
The starting point for every engagement. A structured review of your HR infrastructure across six dimensions, with a written findings report and prioritized recommendations.
See the Diagnostic →Investment & Service Structure
Investment and Service Structure
Flat-fee engagements scoped to the work. No hourly billing, no retainer minimums. Every scope agreed in writing before work begins.
See the Pricing →The Exposure Report
The Exposure Report
See exactly what the Diagnostic produces. A written, prioritized findings report that identifies every gap and tells you what to address first.
See the Report →Case Studies
Case Studies
Real engagements. Real companies. Real outcomes. These situations represent the categories of work that come up most and what resolution looks like before something forces it.
Read the Cases →Shared Guide
Resources
Guides on specific topics that every company with employees needs to understand. Worker classification. Separation documentation. Multi-state compliance.
Read the Guides →The Advisory
About Noël
30 years on the employer side of every situation that HR infrastructure is designed to survive. The story of what this practice is and why it exists in the gap between attorneys and platforms.
Read the Story →For Circular
HR risk doesn’t announce itself.
By the time you’re seated in a regulatory audit, you’re already too late.
Outdated policy infrastructure
Employee handbooks and policy documents that haven’t been updated to reflect current law, or that have never been reviewed for enforceability in the states where employees actually work.
Classification errors
Misclassified employees and contractors can trigger significant wage penalties and back-tax exposure. The risk compounds with each year that passes without a review.
Documentation gaps
Missing performance documentation, security records and termination files turn defensible decisions into indefensible ones when the situation escalates.
Compliance blind spots
State-specific laws on salary history, notice, leave and termination documents can cost companies open-and-shut cases against strong employer practices.
Typical Risk Profile by Area
Services
Where advisory meets architecture.
Three engagement models, each designed to meet you where you are and move you toward where you need to be.
HR Exposure Audit
HR Exposure Audit
A structured review of your current HR infrastructure : policies, documentation, and compliance practices delivered as a prioritized findings report.
Get Started →Policy Architecture
Policy Architecture
A comprehensive policy architecture: employee handbooks, policy suites, and documentation frameworks built for your company’s specific size, industry, and active states.
Get Started →Fractional HR Advisory
Fractional HR Advisory
Ongoing senior HR guidance without the cost of a full-time hire. Month-to-month. Structured around what the Exposure Report shows.
Get Started →Diagnostic
Six areas we examine.
Every engagement begins with a structured diagnostic audit across these six dimensions of HR risk.
Ready to find your gaps?
Start with a complimentary diagnostic call.
20 minutes with Noël directly : no coordinator, no junior staff. A written findings report follows within 48 hours.
Schedule a Diagnostic Call →Engagement Options
Three ways to work together.
Strategic Diagnostic
Entry PointA structured review of your HR infrastructure across six dimensions : policy, classification, documentation, compliance, separation, and manager capability.
What Is Included
- 20-minute intake and diagnostic call with Noël directly
- Review across all six HR risk dimensions
- Written findings report with risk rankings
- Specific prioritized remediation recommendations
- Delivered within 48 business hours
No fee for the initial diagnostic. Paid engagements begin with remediation work.
HR Infrastructure Build
Most CommonHands-on remediation of the gaps identified in your diagnostic. Building, updating, or overhauling your HR infrastructure so it actually protects you when it needs to.
What Is Included
- Full employee handbook : built from scratch or completely overhauled
- Core policy suite tailored to every active jurisdiction
- Offer letter and separation agreement templates
- Classification review and written documentation
- Compliance gap remediation across all applicable dimensions
- Manager reference guide for high-risk employment situations
Investment by Company Size
- Under 100 employees: $18,000 – $22,000
- 100–200 employees: $25,000 – $35,000
- 200+ employees: $40,000 – $65,000
Scope confirmed after diagnostic. 10% discount when paid in full.
Investigation File Review
Active SituationsFor companies with a live complaint, active internal investigation, or received EEOC charge. Strategic assessment of what the documentation record shows : and what needs to happen before a response is built.
What Is Included
- Full review of every document in the file before strategy is built
- Assessment of what the record shows and what it exposes
- Position statement strategy before a single word is filed
- Mediation evaluation and recommendation
- Litigation hold guidance from the moment the charge arrives
- Rush engagement available for active deadlines
Single: $8.5K–$10K · Multi-claim: $12K–$15K · EEOC: $15K–$20K
Strategic HR Advisory
Ongoing AdvisoryFractional senior HR guidance for companies that need strategic thinking on an ongoing basis. Month-to-month. 30 days written notice to end.
What Is Included
- Monthly or quarterly advisory sessions
- Priority access for time-sensitive situations
- Review and input on people decisions before they are made
- Ongoing policy and document updates as laws change
- Manager escalation support
Foundational
$10,000/mo
- Up to 5 hrs/month
- Priority scheduling
- 1 strategy session
- Quarterly audit
- Policy updates
Strategic
$15,000/mo
- Up to 10 hrs/month
- 2 strategy sessions
- Active situation advisory
- Input before decisions
- Manager support
Embedded
$20,000/mo
- Up to 20 hrs/month
- Embedded partner
- Weekly availability
- Real-time advisory
- Max 3 clients
Month-to-month. 30 days written notice to end.
About
HR built for the real world.
Advice from a practitioner who has sat in this seat.
Noël Tarquinii has spent three decades building and running HR infrastructure at companies ranging from early-stage startups to mid-market enterprises navigating rapid growth.
She works directly with founders, CEOs, and operational leaders to identify exposure, build defensive systems and establish HR programs that stick during critical moments.
The practice exists in the gap between employment attorneys (who enter after something breaks) and fractional HR platforms (which handle operations but cannot build architecture that survives legal pressure). Neither of those options is this.
Years employer-side experience
In liability identified & remediated
States with compliance expertise
Audit & inquiry success rate
How It Works
Simple, transparent billing.
No surprises. No scope creep invoices. No hourly overages after the fact.
Step 1
Diagnostic Call
The debrief call is the moment a founder stops operating from assumption and starts operating from knowledge. Noël has spent 30 minutes inside your company records. She knows what is there and what is missing. She knows what it looks like to the people who will eventually review it. That is the room you walk out of differently than you walked in.
Complimentary
Step 2
Written Scope
Deliverables, timeline, and flat fee agreed before work begins.
No charge
Step 3
Deposit to Begin
50% at engagement start. Work begins when deposit clears.
50% of fee
Step 4
Work in Progress
2 to 4 weeks for most Infrastructure Builds. Rush available.
~2–4 weeks
Step 5
Delivery + Balance
All deliverables with a review call. Balance due on delivery.
50% on delivery
Step 6
Review Window
30 days for questions and refinements within original scope.
Included
Paid in Full
Full fee paid before work begins.
10% discount applied
Split 50/50
50% at start. 50% at delivery or 30 days, whichever comes first.
No discount. No fee.
Three-Part Plan
Infrastructure Build and Investigation Review only. Three equal payments.
5% processing fee
Common Questions
Answers before you ask.
The First Step Costs Nothing
Ready to know where you stand?
Start with the complimentary diagnostic. In 20 minutes you will know exactly where your company stands and what needs to happen first.
Two versions of this company exist six months from now. The first found out what the exposure looked like while options still existed. The infrastructure was built. The documentation holds. The next termination, the next complaint, the next agency inquiry starts from a position of strength. The second version found out the way most companies do. The record that was already written determined the outcome. The diagnostic is the only thing that determines which version this is.
Two versions of this company exist six months from now. The first found out what the exposure looked like while options still existed. The infrastructure was built. The documentation holds. The next termination, the next complaint, the next agency inquiry starts from a position of strength. The second version found out the way most companies do. The record that was already written determined the outcome. The diagnostic is the only thing that determines which version this is.
Verified Data: Both PDFs Applied
Defense costs: $75,000 to $125,000 through summary judgment. $175,000 to $250,000 through verdict if summary judgment is lost. $300,000+ to trial. Average settlement: $200,000. Back pay and front pay are NOT capped under any track. Federal Title VII cap: $50,000 to $300,000 depending on employer size. State no-cap jurisdictions: jury decides. IRS: $1,329,000 penalty ceiling per year. Voluntary Classification Settlement Program reduces exposure to 10% of one year taxes: only before inquiry opens. EEOC FY2024: 97% favorable result rate. 111 merit lawsuits filed. 88,531 private sector charges (one channel of 300,000+ total). 42,301 retaliation charges: 47.8% of all charges, 17th consecutive year. 2024–2026 verdicts: $900M (CA), $238M (WA, later reduced), $103M (CA), $52M (CA), $32.3M (CA), $20.5M (PA), $11.2M (CA), $3.8M (AL).
Sources: EEOC FY2024 Annual Performance Report · IRS Penalty Schedule · Nakase Law Firm 2024 · Proskauer California Employment Law Update 2024–2026 · Katz Banks Kumin LLP Dec 2024 · DOL Final Rule March 2024 · 42 U.S.C. §1981a
This is not a law firm. Nothing constitutes legal advice. All engagements in strict confidence.