Why I Started My Firm: Hidden HR Gaps Don’t Stay Hidden Forever

Client Tasting Room, Healdsburg, CA, Post Crush 2024

Not clickbait — just the truth behind why I started my niche HR consulting firm two years ago.

Even the biggest corporations with full HR teams miss things. I’ve seen it from both sides:

• as an internal HR leader supporting hourly workforces, and

• as a consultant brought in after a Department of Labor (DOL) investigator walks into a business for a surprise wage and hour audit.

And here’s the part many owners in hospitality don’t realize:

The DOL doesn’t care whether you’re Starbucks or a 15-person brewery. Compliance is compliance.
When something is wrong, it’s wrong — even if you didn’t know it at the time.

The Starbucks Case Is a Wake-Up Call for Hospitality

This week, Starbucks agreed to pay restitution to more than 15,000 NYC workers for violations going back to 2021. That’s three years of policies, scheduling practices, and payroll decisions catching up at once.

This matters for every employer with an hourly workforce — restaurants, breweries, taprooms, bars, hotels, coffee shops, tasting rooms — because it highlights three truths:

1. What you did years ago — even unknowingly — still shows up today.
   Hidden HR compliance gaps compound.

2. Knowing your risk matters.
   Wage and hour mistakes don’t disappear.

3. Awareness is the first step in reducing HR exposure.
   You can't fix what you don't know exists.

This Is Exactly Why I Built a Firm Focused on Hospitality HR

My purpose in starting a niche fractional HR consulting firm was simple:

To uncover the gaps operators don’t even know exist, go after the big fish for big wins (the ones that prevent the headline), and then move on to the next.

Hospitality owners don’t have time to keep up with every rule change.
You’re juggling:

• tip credits

• service charge distribution

• tip pooling rules

• scheduling laws

• regular rate and overtime calculations

• sick leave laws

• rest and meal break compliance

• job classifications

• manager exemptions

• multi-location consistency

• onboarding/offboarding

• employee handbooks

• retention and turnover

• seasonal hiring

• training gaps

…all while running a guest-facing business with constant moving parts.

And when your team is mostly hourly employees, the risk is multiplied:

More shifts.
More managers.
More schedule changes.
More pay codes.
More room for error.

Small Gaps Become Expensive Problems

Whether you’re a brewery, restaurant group, taproom, food hall, coffee brand, or any multi-location hospitality business, the reality is the same:

You’re expected to follow every new HR law — but you don’t have an internal team large enough to track them.
Even big brands struggle.

So the risk isn’t theoretical.
It’s financial, operational, and reputational — and it directly affects your ability to hire and retain staff.

Here’s Where We Start: Awareness and Risk Identification

Awareness always comes first.

I come in, identify the HR gaps you didn’t know you had, and help you make decisions that mitigate or minimize exposure moving forward.

That’s the work.
That’s the impact.
And that’s why I built this firm in the first place.

Because you don’t need to become an HR compliance expert — especially in hospitality. You just need one in your corner before small issues become big consequences.