Hear it before it becomes a charge.
A confidential channel where your employees raise concerns and you can answer them in writing, with independent California mediators available at launch on paid plans if a concern is not resolved. Pre-launch interest registration is open today.
No payment is collected today. Employers pay Wiser Workplace a monthly subscription. The mediator's own fee is set by the mediator and paid separately by the employer unless the parties agree otherwise in writing; Wiser Workplace never takes a share of it. Plans at launch run $0 to $1,199 per month.
What happens when an employee raises a concern.
- The employee writes it up and chooses to send it.
- You receive the concern and can reply in your portal, on any plan.
- If it is not resolved, at launch you and the employee can each choose a mediator from the same list on a paid plan.
The cost of a concern you never heard.
Some California employment claims begin as concerns that did not get raised, or did not get answered, until after the employee had already disengaged. The dollar exposure is real and asymmetric.
Per replacement hire
Voluntary turnover after an unheard concern: recruiting, onboarding, and the months before a replacement is fully productive.
An illustrative range, not a sourced figure. The ROI calculator does not model turnover.
Per EEOC or CRD charge
Defense costs for a single EEOC or California Civil Rights Department charge defended administratively, with no suit filed, even when the charge does not lead to a finding of cause.
An illustrative range, the same assumption the ROI calculator uses for this pathway. It is not a sourced figure.
Per suit defended through summary judgment
Defense fees for an employment suit filed and defended through summary judgment, with no trial.
An illustrative range, the same assumption the ROI calculator uses for this pathway. It is not a sourced figure.
What Wiser actually is.
A channel and a written record. The platform records when each step happens; no response time is promised.
Structured intake
At launch, the intake form collects the employee's concern in a structured form; the submission is contractually confidential under our Terms of Service and is routed to your designated responder.
The response channel
Employers get a structured, confidential response channel. The platform records when each step happens; it records when a reply comes, and when none has come, and does not promise one.
The written record
The threaded exchange is private and time-stamped. When the concern closes, the exit note marks it resolved or unresolved with a date stamp. Records are retained and available in the portal while the account is open, subject to the confidentiality terms.
Three things to know before you register. The channel is non-anonymous by default: the employee is identified to the platform, and what you receive is a conversation and a written record rather than an anonymous tip. The platform does not show you the employee's name, email address, or phone number; you receive the employee's description as written, with the categories the employee selected, and the description may identify the employee. Nothing is given up or paused: using the platform does not change any deadline or right either side has. And what either side writes through the platform can be used by either side later, until a mediator is engaged; the confidentiality in the Terms is against outsiders.
Where the savings can come from.
Four mechanisms.
A confidential channel can surface a concern early.
Most CA discrimination, harassment, and wage charges are filed weeks or months after the underlying event, often after the employee has already left. A confidential channel can surface a concern before it becomes a filing; outcomes depend on the facts.
The record shows what you did.
The platform records what was raised and when, with timestamps, rather than reconstructed HR notes. The record is confidential from outsiders under the Terms.
Retention.
Replacement cost for one mid-tenure employee, using the figures above, usually exceeds the annual subscription cost.
Cycle time.
The platform records when each step happens; it records when a reply comes, and when none has come, and does not promise one. The alternative path (CRD investigation, EEOC charge, civil discovery) can run many months or years and pulls HR, in-house counsel, and executives off real work for the duration.
How Wiser compares to what else is on the market.
There is no single competitor. There is a stack of partial solutions, none of which fits a 50-to-250-head California employer well. Here is the honest comparison.
| Wiser Workplace | Ethics hotline (NAVEX, Lighthouse, Convercent by OneTrust) | Arbitration (AAA, JAMS) | HR case management (HR Acuity) | Just an HR inbox | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-dispute clause required? | No | No | Typically yes | No | No |
| Employee waives right to sue? | No | No | Yes, if binding | No | No |
| Employee cost | Free for employees | Free | Filing fee, may be waivable | N/A (internal tool) | Free |
| Employer pricing model | Published subscription plans | Subscription plus per-report | Per-case filing plus arbitrator hourly | Subscription, enterprise-priced | Free |
| Structured response channel | Status recorded by the platform | Configurable, not enforced | Months to years | Configurable, not enforced | None |
| Written record | Yes, timestamped, confidential from outsiders under the Terms | Yes | Yes, formal record | Yes | Email threads, partial |
| Setup time | Registration takes about five minutes | Weeks (procurement) | Months (clause drafting) | Weeks (configuration) | Zero |
| Tolls any deadline? | No, and we say so on intake | No | Sometimes | No | No |
Comparison reflects publicly available information from each provider. Provider feature sets change. Verify before a procurement decision.
What Wiser is not.
Honesty about scope is part of the product. If we do not solve your problem, you should not buy us.
We are not:
- A law firm. We do not give legal advice to either side. We do not represent your employees, and we do not represent you.
- An arbitration service. There is no neutral panel, no binding decision, no waiver of any party's right to sue or to file with a regulator.
- A toll on any statute of limitations or any administrative deadline. The platform does not pause time for either side, and we say so on every intake page.
- A replacement for your HR team. The platform sits in front of HR or alongside it, depending on how you configure intake routing.
- A SOX-compliant ethics hotline. If you are required to maintain an anonymous tip line under federal securities law, keep it. We address the concerns that do not get raised through the hotline because the employee does not trust an anonymous tip channel to result in action.
Why this platform exists.
California workplace concerns that could be raised early and addressed through a structured channel often escalate to formal complaints or litigation. The cost is material exposure for the employer and prolonged uncertainty for the employee. A contractually confidential channel that both sides will actually use can change that path in many matters; specific outcomes always depend on the facts and the parties.
Wiser Workplace LLC is a technology platform, not a law firm. The exit note when a concern closes unresolved points to government enforcement agencies (EEOC, California Civil Rights Department, Labor Commissioner) and reminds the employee of the right to consult an attorney of their own choosing.
If you have questions about Wiser Workplace before you register your interest, contact us here.
Pricing.
Annual billing saves 17 percent. At launch, Wiser Workplace may offer eligible employers a 60-day complimentary trial of paid features, as the Terms describe. No payment is collected today; pre-launch registration adds you to the early-access list.
Employers pay Wiser Workplace a monthly subscription. The mediator's own fee is set by the mediator and paid separately by the employer unless the parties agree otherwise in writing; Wiser Workplace never takes a share of it.
Read the Employer Implementation Guide for how onboarding, the response channel, and the mediator list work in practice.
Employer FAQ.
If a question is not answered here, contact us directly.
Is Wiser arbitration?
Wiser is not arbitration: there is no panel imposing a binding decision and no waiver of any party's right to sue or to file with a regulator. The subscription includes a structured intake and response channel, and at launch, if both parties agree, an independent California mediator chosen by both sides from the platform's list can mediate. Any outcome the parties reach is theirs, not ours.
Do we need to add a clause to our employment agreements?
No. Wiser does not require a pre-dispute clause and does not modify any existing employment contract. At launch, you can use Wiser even if your handbook is silent on dispute resolution.
Does using Wiser pause any legal deadline?
No. The platform does not toll any statute of limitations or any administrative deadline. We say this on every intake page so the parties know.
We already have a hotline. Why this?
Keep it. An anonymous ethics hotline (NAVEX, Lighthouse) takes tips and is built for SOX and Dodd-Frank reporting. An insurance carrier's HR helpline advises you after you have heard a concern. Wiser Workplace is where the employee raises the concern in writing and where you answer it. It is non-anonymous by default: the employee is identified to the platform, and the platform does not show you the employee's name, email address, or phone number, and you receive what the employee writes as written, which may identify the employee. What you get is a conversation and a written record, not a tip.
How is this different from AAA arbitration?
AAA is an arbitration administrator. To use AAA, you generally need a pre-dispute arbitration clause embedded in your employment agreements, the employee files a case, fees and arbitrator selection follow, and a binding decision issues on a timeline measured in months or years. Wiser is none of that. We are a subscription channel that sits before any of it, with a structured, confidential channel, and we do not require any clause or any waiver.
How is this different from HR Acuity or Convercent by OneTrust?
HR case management tools live inside your HR organization and document what HR has already heard. Wiser is the channel that the employee uses to reach HR in the first place, with structure built in. The two are complementary, not substitutes.
Can what is said here be used in court?
Yes, by either side. Intake and exchange are confidential against outsiders under our Terms of Service, and the Terms do not restrict either party from using what is written through the platform in a later proceeding. Messages exchanged after you first respond, while the two sides negotiate a resolution, are intended to come within California Evidence Code section 1152, which can make them inadmissible to prove liability; the submission, your first response, and any message that itself reports conduct the employee has reasonable cause to believe is unlawful are not treated that way, and a court decides whether it applies. California's mediation confidentiality attaches once a mediator is engaged at launch. Review the Terms with counsel and decide whether that framework meets your needs before signing up. Read the confidentiality terms.
What happens to the data when we leave?
Your case records remain available in the portal while your account is open. On account closure, data is retained per our Privacy Policy retention schedule and then anonymized. See the Privacy Policy for the exact terms.
Who is behind Wiser Workplace?
Wiser Workplace LLC is a California company, founded by a California employment attorney who does not practice through it. The platform gives no legal advice to you or to your employees, represents no one, and refers no one to any lawyer or law firm. It does not evaluate the merit of any concern. What is written on the platform is used to route and address the concern and to operate the Services, as the Privacy Policy describes, and never to give legal advice. The next question covers what happens when a concern closes unresolved.
Where do unresolved concerns go?
Not to a law firm. Wiser Workplace does not refer cases to any law firm. When a concern closes unresolved, the exit note points the employee to government agencies only (the EEOC, the California Civil Rights Department, and the Labor Commissioner) and reminds the employee of the right to consult an attorney of their own choosing.
Register your interest.
At launch, Wiser Workplace may offer eligible employers a 60-day complimentary trial of paid features, as the Terms describe. Register your interest today; no payment is collected now. When the platform goes live, we ask that you actually use it when a concern comes in and that you give us honest feedback.