01
Nobody trained you for this
You were promoted for doing the work well. Now you are hiring, onboarding, answering pay questions and handling problems, with no HR department behind you.
Camderson Academy · CA-WH-001
Handle the people side of your business with confidence.
A practical, self-paced course for managers without HR training and small business owners. Hire fairly, get new hires started right, pay correctly, respond well to leave, accommodation and harassment concerns, document fairly, and know when to call an employment attorney or HR professional.
About 5 hours · 17 lessons with video · Beginner · Self-paced · Certificate of completion · 30-day money-back guarantee
In a small business, HR is usually whoever is closest to the problem.
02
The rules feel out of reach
Federal laws apply at different headcounts, states add their own, and forms and thresholds change. It is hard to know what applies to you.
03
Small mistakes get expensive
A missed form deadline, a salaried role that should earn overtime or a careless termination can turn into a real problem long after the moment has passed.
Learning outcomes
What you will be able to do
Eight practical outcomes, each practiced in an exercise and checked in the final assessment or the capstone.
- Describe what HR covers across the employee lifecycle and identify which major federal employment laws apply to a business at its size, recognizing that state and local laws often add requirements.
- Hire fairly and lawfully: define a job, write a fair posting, run a structured interview with lawful questions, and handle references, background checks and offers.
- Complete core new hire paperwork, classify workers as employees or independent contractors with the right questions, and plan onboarding for a new hire's first 90 days.
- Apply Fair Labor Standards Act basics: exempt versus non-exempt status, overtime, hours worked, breaks and pay records.
- Respond appropriately to leave and accommodation requests related to disability, pregnancy, religion and family needs.
- Outline a basic employee handbook, respond to harassment concerns, and support workplace safety and employee voice without retaliation.
- Document performance and conduct fairly and handle resignations and terminations carefully.
- Recognize when legal or HR expertise is needed and assemble a People Operations Starter Kit.
The Camderson method
Four teaching tools for fair, practical people processes
The Headcount Check
No minimum · 15 · 20 · 50 employees
A short table of the major federal employment laws and the size at which each applies, as the official sources state them. Rerun it every January and whenever you grow, and check what your state adds.
The Structured Interview Guide
Same questions · Written anchors · Score alone · Notes on answers
Job-related questions asked of every candidate, a 1 to 5 scale with written anchors, and independent scoring before anyone compares. Fairer for candidates and more useful for you.
The FACTS Record
Facts · Agreed expectation · Consequence · Their response · Support and next Steps
A simple way to document any performance or conduct conversation so it is factual, consistent and ready for review, with an open question about anything affecting the work.
The Three-Lane Escalation List
Handle and document · Check first · Stop and call an expert
Sort people situations by how much expert help they need, name your experts by role, and know before you act when a decision needs an employment attorney or HR professional.
Know the basics. Call early.
Curriculum
Inside the course
Six modules, 17 lessons with worked examples and video
01
People Basics for Managers and Owners
What HR covers across the People Lifecycle, who owns which decisions, and the Headcount Check: which federal employment laws apply at your size, and why state law matters too.
02
Hiring Fairly and Lawfully
A one-page job definition, fair posting language, structured interviews with anchored ratings, questions to avoid, consistent references, background check steps and a complete written offer.
03
Getting New Hires Started Right
Form I-9, W-4 and new hire reporting on time, the employee or independent contractor question, and a 90-Day Onboarding Plan built on Bauer's Four Cs.
04
Pay, Hours and Leave Basics
Exempt or non-exempt, overtime math, hours worked at the edges of a shift, breaks and pay records, and how to respond to leave and accommodation requests.
05
Policies, Conduct and Safety
A basic handbook outline and the mistakes to avoid, responding to a harassment report, OSHA basics and employees' right to raise concerns together without retaliation.
06
Performance, Separations and Expert Help
The FACTS Record for fair documentation, separations done carefully, the Three-Lane Escalation List for when to call an expert, and your People Operations Starter Kit.
What is included
Everything you need to build your People Operations Starter Kit
- 17 lessons, each with a written lesson, worked examples and diagrams, and a narrated lesson video, at your own pace on any device
- A fillable workbook with a Try it exercise and reflection page for every lesson
- A federal law quick reference: the Headcount Check with official source links and a checked-on date
- A hiring checklist from job definition to signed offer, with state-check boxes
- An editable structured interview guide with a question bank, rating anchors, a scoring sheet and questions to avoid
- A new hire paperwork checklist for Form I-9, W-4 and new hire reporting
- The Classification Check: employee or contractor, then exempt or non-exempt, with official links
- Editable templates for a 90-day onboarding plan, a basic handbook outline with an acknowledgment form, and the FACTS Record
- The Three-Lane Escalation List, with space for your experts and state resources
- The Marlowe Practice Pack, from a fictional 24-person sign and print shop: an inventory, a job posting, interview score sheets, an onboarding plan, accommodation and report notes, a handbook outline, documentation records and 8 scenario cards
- A People Operations Starter Kit template and an optional visual companion PDF
- Knowledge checks for every module and a 20-question final assessment
- The People Operations Starter Kit, an applied capstone reviewed by a person
- A Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion when you pass the final assessment and the capstone
- Access to the Camderson Academy community
Is this course right for you?
This course is for you if
- You manage people without HR training, and the hiring, paperwork, pay questions and hard conversations land on you
- You own or run a small business of about 10 to 50 people without an HR department
- You want to know the federal basics, run fair processes, and recognize when to call an employment attorney or HR professional
It is not the right fit if
- You are hiring your very first employee and still setting up payroll and state accounts (CA-BE-012 Hiring Your First Employees covers that setup)
- You want day-to-day management habits such as one-on-ones, feedback and delegation (CA-LM-001 First-Time Manager Essentials covers those)
- You need legal advice for a specific situation or detailed state-by-state rules (this course is general education and shows you when to call an expert)
Your instructor
Meet your instructor
Ruben Tejada
Managing Partner · Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness
Ruben Tejada is a strategic advisor and organizational leader whose career spans healthcare, public service, human resources, operations, and learning and development. He has advised executives and leaders on leadership development, talent development, employee experience, culture and succession planning, and has led initiatives to strengthen leadership accountability and build workforce capability. That work gives him a practical view of how trust is earned and how good processes help people do their best work. In this course he helps managers and owners run fair, practical people processes and know when to bring in an expert.
About
About Camderson Academy
Camderson Academy is the education division of Camderson Advisory Services. Camderson helps leaders build organizations that work without them in the room. Everything we teach has been used in a real organization first.
Training a team?
We offer group enrollment for small businesses, multi-location teams and nonprofits that want every manager to share the same fair, practical people processes. Email connect@camderson.com to talk through your team.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need HR experience to take this course?
No. Every term is explained the first time it appears. The course is written for managers without HR training and small business owners who handle people matters themselves.
Does it cover my state's laws?
The course teaches US federal basics and shows you where state and local laws often add requirements, such as final pay, paid leave and pay transparency. Every lesson tells you what to check with your state labor department, and the downloads include checked-on lines so you can record what you confirmed.
How long do I have access?
Your access does not expire. We review the course regularly, and any updates are added for you at no extra cost.
How long does it take?
About 5 hours in total, including the written lessons and their videos, the exercises, the knowledge checks, the final assessment and the capstone. Everything is self-paced.
Is this course legal advice?
No. This course is general education about US federal employment basics, not legal advice. State and local laws vary and often add requirements. Rules that change, such as form editions and salary thresholds, are dated in the lessons (checked October 21, 2026). For a specific situation, talk with an employment attorney or a qualified HR professional.
Is the certificate accredited, or does it count toward HR recertification?
No. You receive a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion after passing the final assessment and the capstone, a People Operations Starter Kit that a person reviews. It is not an academic credential and does not carry continuing education, recertification or other professional credit.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes. You are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If the course is not right for you, email connect@camderson.com within 30 days of purchase and we will refund you in full. No questions asked. Your course access ends when the refund is issued.
What tools do I need?
No special tools. Your payroll provider, a spreadsheet and your calendar are enough. The workbook, checklists, guides, templates and practice files are included.
Run fair people processes, and know when to call an expert.
Self-paced, about 5 hours, with every checklist, guide, template and practice file you need to hire fairly, start new hires right, pay correctly, handle leave and complaints well, document fairly and separate carefully.
Backed by our 30-day money-back guarantee.
This course earns a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion. It is not an academic credential and does not carry continuing education, recertification or other professional credit. This course is general education about US federal employment basics, not legal advice. State and local laws vary and often add requirements. For a specific situation, talk with an employment attorney or a qualified HR professional.