Employment Practices

Individual cities and counties across California have passed local ordinances relating to minimum wage and sick leave laws — with eligibility rules varying from city to city. Check with local city government as to whether any local minimum wage ordinances may apply to employees in your practice. Periodically check local websites as rates in these cities could change at any time.

Checklist to help prepare for planning an optimal new employee orientation and onboarding process, including lists of forms, acknowledgements and brochures required in CA.

CDA recommends the use of a job offer letter in conjunction with a verbal offer of employment.

Establishing a team of strong performers plan takes a lot of effort and communication and gives employees a chance to learn and grow. If an employee has recurring performance issues, work with them on a performance improvement plan (PIP). Using a PIP instead of terminating an employee can lead to better practice harmony and employee morale.

This information is provided to help you understand classification exemptions and salary requirements as defined in California wage and hour laws to enhance your knowledge for successful compliance in your practice.

Template for keeping employees informed of any policy changes and obtaining signed acknowledgements that employees read and understand new policies. 

A form to document employee’s voluntary declaration of pregnancy and that employee has been informed of facts on occupational radiation exposure and other information.

Use this form for each employee to keep track of the variety of documentation and tracking of other time off available to the employee during such a leave of absence. 

Explains employer obligations and employee rights, eligibility requirements among mandated leaves of absence for pregnancy and baby bonding leaves. California has multiple programs and laws that provide employees time off and wage replacement during pregnancy, maternity/paternity leave, and baby bonding.

Provides recommendations for practice owners to consider to avoid becoming an easy target for a dishonest employee.

Use this table to determine how long to keep business records such as payroll and employee records, patient records, EOB's and more.

Checklist of recommended steps when recruiting and hiring new employees.

Checking references is a small but important piece of the hiring process. This guide covers why an employer should consider checking prior employment as well as other references during the hiring process. This resource includes a form and sample questions.

Use this form to document an employee's request for accommodation from a mandatory vaccine for a sincerely held religious belief.

Use this form when an employee reports symptoms, exposure, or a positive test for COVID-19 to help track the incident. This continues to be required until Feb. 3, 2026.

Effective, January 1, 2023, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) requires employers of 5 or more employees to provide eligible employees with 5 days of bereavement leave. 

Lists posters required at dental offices and required pamphlets. Poster sets are distributed to practice owners biennially. This resource is part of the Regulatory Compliance Manual. Updated January 2024.

Effective on January 1, 2024, employers with five or more employees are required to provide employees who have worked for at least 30 days with up to five days of reproductive loss leave.

Review every 24 months.

Employers of five (5) or more employees must provide information about their CFRA policy and post this information in a conspicuous place where employees tend to gather.

The key to retaining and engaging your employees is to build stronger personal and professional relationships. Having regularly scheduled one-on-one time with each of your employees gives leaders the ability to connect and to quickly address any issues that may arise.

Use this form to track track employee COVID-19 vaccination status at-a-glance. This form can be used in conjunction with the Self-Certification of Employee Vaccination Status obtained from each employee. 

Developed to be used specifically in a dental practice this template reflects policies in the areas of discrimination, harassment and retaliation prevention and training requirements, pregnancy disability leave, meal and rest break requirements and more. Updated for 2025.

Form to gain consent when using employee images or video in your practice marketing materials.

For use when interviewing candidates. Save and file this form and all other information collected during the candidate selection process to avoid allegations of discrimination.

Sample advertisement text for common positions found in a dental practice.

Use this letter to document Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) leave agreements and establish the terms of leave.