Something happened at work. Say what happened, in confidence.

Describe it at your own pace. Nothing goes to your employer until you choose to send it, and you can stop at any point. If it is not resolved and your employer's plan includes mediation, you and your employer will each be able to choose a mediator from the same list.

Wiser Workplace has not launched. You can join the waitlist today.

What this is

A private, structured way to raise a concern with the employer you name, which can reply in writing. A record of what you said and when. At launch, if your employer's plan includes mediation, independent California mediators that both sides choose from the same list. A mediator is an independent person who helps the two sides talk it through. A mediator does not decide who is right and cannot order anyone to do anything. Employees never pay.

What this is not

• It is not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice.
• No one here is your lawyer.
• It does not pause any deadline to file with the EEOC, the California Civil Rights Department, the Labor Commissioner or a court.
• It is voluntary. Nobody can be forced into mediation.
• It does not replace talking to a lawyer of your own.
• It does not stop retaliation. The law protects many workplace complaints from retaliation, but not every complaint, and the platform cannot tell you whether yours is protected. The platform records when each step happens, and nothing else.

Who sees your name

Wiser Workplace sees your name and contact details. Your employer does not receive them from the platform unless you agree, or the law or a court requires it. Your description may still identify you, so read the preview before you send it.

How this differs from an email to HR

This is not your employer's complaint process and does not replace it. The difference here: your employer agrees to the confidentiality terms before it reads a word, the record of what you said and when is kept by a service your employer does not control, and the platform records whether and when a reply comes. If your employer is not on the platform, it is invited only if you give us an address for it.

What happens after you submit

At launch, if it is not resolved and your employer's plan includes mediation, you and your employer can each choose a mediator from the same list, and the mediation runs through that mediator.

What stays private, and what does not

What you write is confidential from outsiders under the Terms. Wiser Workplace agrees not to share it with third parties, your employer agrees to the same before it can read it, and you agree too, with the exceptions the law protects, such as talking to your own lawyer, a government agency, or your coworkers about your working conditions.

Before a mediator is involved, either side can use what was written in a later proceeding. Write with that in mind. Messages exchanged after your employer first replies, while you negotiate, are meant to be settlement talks that a court may keep out as proof of fault; your submission, the first reply, and any message that reports conduct you have reasonable cause to believe is unlawful are not, and a court decides.

Once both sides choose a mediator and the mediation begins, California's mediation confidentiality applies to what is said in the mediation.

Read the confidentiality terms

What it costs

Nothing. Wiser Workplace never charges employees to submit a concern, to communicate with their employer, or to track a response. Employers pay Wiser Workplace a subscription. If a mediator is engaged, the employer pays the mediator's fee unless the two sides agree otherwise in writing beforehand; you owe the mediator nothing. The mediator sets their own fee, shown on the mediator's profile before either side chooses, and Wiser Workplace never takes a share of it. The mediator standards require the mediator to tell you in writing who is paying that fee before the mediation begins.

If you need help now

• Free guides to California workplace rights
• California Civil Rights Department: filing a discrimination complaint
• Labor Commissioner: filing a wage claim

Reading a guide does not create an attorney-client relationship, and if you have a deadline, talk to a lawyer now.

Ready when you are

Wiser Workplace has not launched. Join the waitlist and we will tell you when the platform opens.