Benefits, Leave & Compliance Partnership

Structured, specialist-informed partnership to keep your benefits, leave, ADA, and workers' compensation programs organized, compliant, and running with care — as your business grows.

ClearPath provides thoughtful, dependable specialist support in the HR functions growing businesses need but rarely have dedicated expertise for — benefits administration, leave of absence management, ADA accommodations, and workers' compensation — designed for founders and leaders who want clarity, consistency, and compliance confidence without hiring a full-time specialist.

I work as your external specialist partner, bringing 15+ years of hands-on HR experience, deep compliance expertise, and organized workflows to your most important people processes — so you can focus on leading with confidence.

Partnerships are capacity-based, scoped to your needs, and delivered through defined quarterly engagements. Detailed investment information is shared after submitting an inquiry.

Our Partnership Levels

ClearPath offers two specialist tracks — Benefits & Leave Essentials and Benefits & Leave Complete — for teams that need dedicated benefits and leave expertise, plus a broader People Ops Essentials option for teams that need wider HR support. Choose the level that fits where your team is today.

  • What It Is: Reliable, ongoing benefits administration and leave coordination handled consistently and compliantly.

    Best For: Employers who need dependable execution of core benefits and leave functions — new hire enrollments, life events, open enrollment support, FMLA intake, and employee benefit inquiries.

    Support Includes:

    • Benefits enrollment — new hires, life events, terminations, and open enrollment

    • Leave of absence intake and compliance tracking across FMLA, PWFA, CFRA, PDL, ADA, and PFL

    • Employee benefit inquiry support — clear and empathetic

    • Carrier and TPA coordination

    • Benefits records maintenance and HR communication workflows

    What You Gain: Consistent, compliant benefits and leave execution — organized, dependable, and handled by a specialist who understands both the compliance requirements and the human stakes.

  • What It Is: An embedded specialist partnership covering the full scope of benefits, leave, ADA, and workers' compensation.

    Best For: Growing teams with increasing benefits and leave complexity who need a dedicated specialist resource without adding headcount.

    Support Includes:

    • Everything in Benefits & Leave Essentials, plus:

    • ADA accommodation coordination and interactive process support

    • Workers' compensation coordination — injury reporting, carrier coordination, and return-to-work

    • Dependent verification and benefits audit support

    • Open enrollment planning and execution

    • SOP development and monthly alignment conversations

    What You Gain: A dedicated specialist who knows your programs, your employees, and your compliance obligations — and shows up every month ready to execute.

  • What It Is: Broader HR operational support for teams who need reliable coordination beyond benefits and leave — onboarding, documentation, and communication workflows.

    Best For: Founders and small teams who need a reliable HR partner to take ownership of essential people processes.

    Support Includes:

    • New hire onboarding and contractor documentation

    • Employee file organization and maintenance

    • HR inbox and communication workflows

    • Basic benefits enrollment coordination

    • HR documentation and SOP support

    What You Gain: Essential people operations — organized, dependable, and off your plate.

    For specialist-level benefits, leave, ADA, or workers' compensation support, Benefits & Leave Essentials or Complete is recommended.

Not Ready For A Retainer Yet?

If you're not ready for ongoing partnership yet or you just need expert help in one specific area, ClearPath offers a suite of fixed-scope, fixed-fee projects designed for exactly that. Each is complete in itself, with no retainer required.

Assessment Projects

  • Up to 15 Hours — $2,250

    An outside-eyes assessment of where your benefits, leave, and workers' compensation practices stand today, with a written findings summary and a prioritized roadmap for what to address first.

    Best for: Growing teams managing benefits and leave informally who want a clear, honest picture of their compliance exposure before something becomes a problem.

    Support includes:

    • Structured intake questionnaire before we begin

    • Current-state review across benefits, leave, workers' comp readiness, and documentation

    • Compliance gap assessment — FMLA, CFRA, ADA, COBRA, and OSHA recordkeeping

    • Written findings summary, organized without jargon

    • Prioritized action plan by urgency and impact

    • 60-minute debrief call

    Delivered within 3 weeks of kickoff.

  • Up to 12 Hours — $1,850

    A structured review of your benefits administration — enrollment accuracy, carrier and payroll reconciliation, COBRA compliance, and open enrollment — with a clear findings summary and prioritized action plan.

    Best for: Employers administering benefits in-house, those who've recently changed carriers or HRIS platforms, or anyone seeing billing discrepancies, enrollment errors, or open enrollment irregularities.

    Support includes:

    • Structured intake questionnaire covering your benefits programs, carriers, and HRIS platform

    • Review of enrollment and eligibility processes — new hires, life events, and terminations

    • COBRA compliance assessment

    • Carrier invoice and payroll deduction reconciliation

    • Open enrollment review — communications, elections, and post-enrollment audit

    • Compliance gap assessment across ERISA, ACA, COBRA, and HIPAA

    • 60-minute debrief call

    Delivered within 3 weeks of kickoff.

Specialist Compliance Projects

  • Up to 15 Hours — $2,500

    A focused engagement that assesses your leave practices, identifies compliance gaps, and delivers a documented leave framework built for your workforce and operating states.

    Best for: Growing employers managing leave informally or inconsistently — whether you're California-based, multi-state, or fully remote. Especially valuable if a recent leave situation exposed gaps.

    Support includes:

    • Structured intake questionnaire on your current practices and applicable requirements

    • Review of current leave processes — FMLA, PWFA, CFRA, PDL, ADA, PFL, and applicable state programs

    • Compliance gap assessment showing where you fall short and your exposure

    • Documented intake workflow from first request through return to work

    • Required notice and documentation templates — rights notices, designation letters, certification guidance, return-to-work forms

    • Manager guide covering leave responsibilities and coordination

    • 60-minute debrief and handoff call

    Delivered within 3 weeks of kickoff.

  • Up to 12 Hours — $2,100

    A focused engagement that establishes a documented, legally defensible interactive process for workplace accommodation requests — so your team responds to ADA and FEHA requests consistently and confidently.

    Best for: Employers who've received, or expect to receive, accommodation requests without a documented interactive process — or who are handling them inconsistently.

    Support includes:

    • Structured intake questionnaire on your current approach and any situations that have surfaced

    • Review of existing accommodation practices, or assessment of the gap

    • Documented interactive process workflow, from request through final determination

    • Accommodation request intake form and acknowledgment template

    • Medical certification request template, compliant with ADA and HIPAA

    • Response templates — approval, denial, and alternative accommodation

    • Manager guide covering what they can and can't ask

    • 60-minute debrief and handoff call

    Delivered within 3 weeks of kickoff.

  • Up to 15 Hours — $2,700

    A focused engagement that builds a coordinated workers' compensation and return-to-work program from injury reporting through return to work, with the OSHA recordkeeping and modified-duty structure your team needs.

    Best for: Growing employers handling injuries reactively, without a real return-to-work process, or unsure their OSHA recordkeeping is sound.

    Support includes:

    • Structured intake questionnaire on your industry, workforce, carrier/TPA relationships, claim history, and OSHA status

    • Review of current workers' comp and return-to-work practices, or assessment of the gap

    • Documented injury reporting and claims coordination workflow, from first report through resolution

    • Return-to-work and modified-duty framework — transitional duty, offer templates, restriction matching

    • Interactive process coordination for injuries that may trigger ADA/FEHA obligations

    • OSHA recordkeeping setup — 300, 300A, and 301 logs with a posting calendar

    • Required notices and templates — post-injury notices, DWC-1 guidance, modified-duty documentation

    • Manager guide on what to do when an injury occurs

    • Written compliance summary of workers' comp and OSHA obligations

    • 60-minute debrief and handoff call

    Delivered within 3 weeks of kickoff.

Project engagements begin the same way as partnerships: submit an inquiry, and you’ll receive details and a link to schedule a free discovery call. Once scope is confirmed, you’ll receive an agreement and initial invoice to secure your start date.

Where ClearPath Specializes

While ClearPath supports the full range of benefits and leave needs, my deepest expertise sits in four areas that growing teams consistently underestimate:

Leave of Absence Programs — FMLA, PWFA, CFRA, PDL, ADA, PFL, and state-specific programs administered accurately and compassionately from intake — with particular depth in California, where CFRA and PDL requirements go well beyond federal FMLA standards.

California Leave Law Precision — Most HR teams know FMLA and ADA. Few understand how CFRA, PDL, and FEHA interact with them — including the fact that PDL and CFRA don't run concurrently, which can extend protected leave well beyond what federal law alone would require. This is the terrain I know best, and where ClearPath adds the most value for companies with California employees

Benefits Administration — Enrollment, life events, open enrollment, carrier and payroll reconciliation, handled with accuracy and genuine care for the employee experience.

Workers' Compensation & Return-to-Work — Injury reporting and claims coordination, OSHA recordkeeping, modified-duty and return-to-work programs, and the interactive process for injured employees — handled with the depth that comes from a career spent specializing in it.

ADA Accommodations — Interactive process coordination, medical documentation management, and compliant accommodation implementation including California's FEHA and PWFA obligations, which carry additional requirements beyond federal ADA standards.

These aren't add-ons. They're the foundation of what ClearPath does best.

Investment Overview

ClearPath partnerships are structured as monthly retainers based on defined capacity and the complexity of your benefits and leave programs. These engagements are designed for teams that value consistency, clarity, and predictable execution.

Retainer hours are allocated monthly and do not roll over. Unused hours expire at the end of each billing period. This keeps capacity predictable for both of us and ensures each month begins with focused, fresh support.

Detailed investment information is shared after submitting an inquiry prior to scheduling your discovery call. This gives you the opportunity to review partnership options in advance and come to the conversation informed and prepared.

How Partnership Works

3 Month Initial Term

Each engagement begins with a 3-month initial term — allowing time for onboarding, alignment, and meaningful compliance progress. Benefits, leave, and accommodation work requires time to build employee trust and understand your specific programs.

Structured Renewal

After the initial term, partnerships renew in 90-day cycles. This predictable rhythm supports continuity and consistent forward momentum.

Defined Scope & Capacity

Each partnership reflects a set number of monthly hours focused on your People Ops priorities, delivered within that defined capacity.

Monthly Hours & Unused Capacity

Retainer hours are allocated monthly and do not roll over. Unused hours expire at the end of each billing period. Your retainer represents reserved capacity — dedicated time set aside for your partnership — and that reservation has value regardless of how many hours are actively used in a given month. If a month is trending toward underutilized capacity, I'll communicate proactively so we can make the most of the time available. If a month requires more than your retainer covers, additional hours may be available at your standard rate — always discussed and agreed upon before any additional work begins.

Notice Period

If either party chooses to conclude the partnership, 30 days' written notice is required prior to the end of the current term to ensure a smooth and organized transition.

Evolving Needs

As your team grows and operational complexity increases, partnership capacity and scope can adapt to match your support needs at the start of any new 90-day term.

What’s Outside Scope

ClearPath focuses exclusively on benefits, leave, ADA accommodations, and workers' compensation because that focus is what makes the partnership valuable. The following are outside scope for all retainer engagements:

  • Legal drafting, legal advisory, or legal review — ClearPath brings deep compliance knowledge to every engagement, but formal legal counsel always remains with your legal team

  • HR strategy ownership or policy creation — I inform and support; you lead and decide

  • Employee relations, performance management, or conflict resolution

  • Bookkeeping, accounting, payroll processing, or tax support

  • Marketing, social media, or brand management

  • Sales, lead generation, or business development

  • Personal errands or non-business administrative tasks

  • Non-HR project or launch management

  • Full software implementation or technology migrations

  • Crisis response or emergency same-day work

ClearPath Support Services operates as an external HR partner — not a law firm, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), a benefits broker, or a third-party administrator (TPA). I work alongside your existing broker, carriers, and TPAs as your internal specialist resource.

Not Sure Which Level Fits?

Here's a simple way to think about it:

  • Benefits & Leave Essentials — You need reliable, consistent execution of core benefits and leave functions

  • Benefits & Leave Complete — Your benefits, leave, ADA, and workers' comp needs have grown complex and you need an embedded specialist

  • People Ops Essentials — You need broader HR operational support beyond benefits and leave

Not sure if ClearPath is the right fit at all? If your team is navigating leave complexity, ADA accommodations, multi-state leave compliance, or benefits administration without dedicated specialist support, there's a good chance we should talk.

After you submit your inquiry form:

  • You'll receive a link to schedule your free discovery call

  • Once your call is booked, you'll receive the ClearPath Service & Investment Guide

  • You can review partnership levels and pricing before our call — so you come prepared and confident

Ready to Bring Clarity & Calm to Your People Operations?

Whether you're ready for ongoing partnership or just want to start with a project, the inquiry form is the right first step.

 Submit an inquiry to begin. You'll receive the ClearPath Service & Investment Guide — including detailed investment options for all partnership levels and both project packages — before scheduling your discovery call. Come to the conversation prepared, informed, and confident.

Inquire Here