Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This website is operated by empathiHR LLC ("empathiHR," "we," "us," or "our"), an HR consulting and workplace-compliance services firm based in McKinney, Texas.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and retain personal information obtained through:

• The empathiHR website.
• Contact, assessment, scheduling, and calculator forms.
• empathiHR misconduct-reporting channels.
• Workplace investigations and client compliance programs administered by empathiHR.

Services provided to employer clients may also be governed by a separate services agreement, privacy addendum, reporting protocol, or investigation notice.

2. Information We Collect

Contact and business-inquiry information

When you contact us or submit a website form, we may collect:

• Your name.
• Work email address.
• Telephone number.
• Company or organization.
• Job title or role.
• Company size or approximate employee count.
• States where employees work.
• The subject of your inquiry.
• The message and other information you choose to provide.

Do not submit detailed workplace allegations, medical information, or confidential complaint evidence through a general contact form.

Assessment and scheduling information

When you schedule or request a compliance assessment, we may collect:

• Your name and contact information.
• Company or organization.
• Approximate workforce size.
• States where employees work.
• The type of compliance help you are seeking.
• Appointment date, time, and time zone.
• Calendar invitation, attendance, and meeting information.
• Other information you voluntarily provide when booking.

Scheduling may be provided through Google Calendar, Google Workspace, or Google Meet. Google may receive information necessary to provide those services under its own privacy practices.

Calculator information

The Workplace Risk Cost Calculator produces an estimate without requiring personal information.

If you ask us to email the estimate, we collect:

• The email address you provide.
• Your name, if provided.
• Your company, if provided.
• The calculator result and assumptions needed to produce the requested estimate.

We use that information to send the estimate and respond concerning the request. Submitting the calculator form does not automatically add you to a third-party advertising list.

Website and analytics information

When you use the website, our hosting and analytics systems may process limited technical information, such as:

• Pages viewed.
• Date and time of access.
• Referring page.
• General geographic region.
• Browser, operating system, and device type.
• Technical information needed to maintain website security and performance.

We use Vercel Web Analytics to understand aggregate website traffic. Vercel Web Analytics is designed to operate without advertising cookies and to provide anonymized or aggregated statistics.

We do not use third-party advertising trackers or behavioral advertising cookies on this website.

An embedded third-party service, such as a Google booking page or VideoPeel intake tool, may process technical information under its own privacy practices.

Hotline, misconduct-report, and investigation information

A misconduct report or workplace investigation may include sensitive and confidential information, including:

• The reporter's identity and contact information.
• Video, audio, photographs, documents, or written statements.
• Employment and workplace information.
• Allegations involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct, safety, or policy violations.
• Information about witnesses and other identifiable individuals.
• Information concerning race, religion, disability, medical conditions, sexual conduct, or other sensitive matters when relevant to a report.
• Investigation notes, communications, findings, and corrective-action information.

Reports may be made through telephone, email, web intake, or VideoPeel.

Hotline and investigation information is maintained as a confidential case record on behalf of the applicable employer client. It is not used for advertising and is not sold.

Anonymous reporting may be available depending on the employer's program. Information will be handled according to the applicable reporting protocol, but legal requirements or the needs of an investigation may limit confidentiality or anonymity.

3. Sources of Information

We may receive personal information:

• Directly from you.
• From an employer client.
• From employees, witnesses, reporting parties, or investigation participants.
• From professional advisers, referral partners, or service providers.
• Automatically through website-hosting and analytics systems.
• From publicly available records when relevant to an authorized investigation or engagement.

4. How We Use Information

We use personal information to:

• Respond to inquiries.
• Schedule and conduct compliance assessments.
• Provide requested calculator estimates.
• Communicate about services you requested.
• Operate misconduct-reporting channels.
• Conduct workplace investigations and administer client compliance programs.
• Maintain case records, training records, and program documentation.
• Provide authorized information to employer clients.
• Operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website.
• Prevent fraud, abuse, unauthorized access, and security incidents.
• Comply with contracts, legal obligations, subpoenas, court orders, and lawful government requests.
• Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
• Protect the safety, rights, and property of empathiHR, our clients, reporting parties, and others.

We do not use hotline or investigation records for marketing.

5. Sale, Advertising, and Profiling

We do not sell personal information.

We do not sell sensitive personal information or biometric information.

We do not share personal information with third parties for their own marketing.

We do not process personal information for targeted advertising or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant decisions about individuals.

6. When We Disclose Information

Service providers

We use service providers to support website hosting, communications, scheduling, intake, and business operations. These may include:

• Vercel for website hosting and aggregate web analytics.
• Resend for email delivery and website-form notifications.
• Google Workspace, Google Calendar, and Google Meet for email, scheduling, meetings, and business records.
• VideoPeel for video-based misconduct intake.
• Telecommunications, security, document-storage, and technology providers supporting our operations.

These providers receive information only as needed to perform the relevant service, subject to their agreements and privacy obligations.

Employer clients and authorized participants

Hotline, investigation, and compliance-program records may be disclosed to:

• Authorized representatives of the employer client.
• Assigned investigators.
• Employment counsel and other professional advisers.
• Insurers or claims administrators when authorized or legally appropriate.
• Witnesses or investigation participants when necessary to evaluate a matter.
• Government agencies, courts, or law-enforcement authorities when legally required or appropriate.

Disclosure is limited according to the applicable client program, engagement terms, investigation needs, and law.

Legal and safety disclosures

We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to:

• Comply with law, subpoena, court order, or lawful process.
• Respond to a government or regulatory inquiry.
• Protect the rights or safety of a person.
• Investigate fraud, abuse, security threats, or unlawful activity.
• Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

Business transactions

If empathiHR is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, financing, or sale of business assets, information may be reviewed or transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections and applicable law.

With your direction or consent

We may disclose information when you request, direct, or authorize us to do so.

7. Retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

Retention decisions may consider:

• The time needed to respond to an inquiry or provide a requested service.
• Contractual obligations to employer clients.
• Applicable limitation periods.
• Employment-law and agency recordkeeping requirements.
• Insurance requirements.
• The need to preserve evidence or defend legal claims.
• Litigation holds, subpoenas, investigations, or government requests.
• Security, fraud-prevention, and business-record requirements.

Website inquiries and scheduling records are retained for the period reasonably necessary to respond, follow up on the requested service, and maintain appropriate business records.

Calculator contact information is retained for the period reasonably necessary to deliver the estimate and respond concerning that request.

Hotline and investigation records are retained according to the applicable employer client's documented retention schedule, contractual requirements, applicable law, and any litigation or preservation obligations.

When information is no longer required, we may delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it.

8. Security

We use commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information.

No website, transmission method, or storage system can guarantee absolute security. If we discover a security incident affecting personal information, we will investigate and provide legally required notices.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Confirm whether we process your personal information.
• Request access to your personal information.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Request deletion of personal information.
• Obtain a portable copy of information you provided.
• Opt out of the sale of personal information, targeted advertising, or certain profiling.
• Appeal a decision concerning a privacy request.
• Exercise privacy rights without unlawful discrimination or retaliation.

We do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising.

How to submit a request

Send a request to hello@empathihr.com with the subject line Privacy Request, or mail it to the address in the Contact section below.

Describe the request and provide enough information for us to identify the relevant records. We may need to verify your identity before releasing, correcting, or deleting information. We will request only information reasonably necessary for verification.

An authorized agent may submit a request where permitted by law. We may request evidence of the agent's authority.

Appeals

If we deny a privacy request and applicable law provides a right to appeal, email hello@empathihr.com with the subject line Privacy Appeal and explain why you believe the decision should be reconsidered.

We will review and respond to the appeal as required by applicable law.

Limits involving workplace case records

Access, correction, or deletion rights may be limited when information:

• Is part of a workplace investigation or hotline case record.
• Concerns another person.
• Must be retained under a contract or legal obligation.
• Is subject to a litigation hold, subpoena, or preservation requirement.
• Is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
• Cannot be disclosed without compromising confidentiality, safety, or the integrity of an investigation.

If a limitation applies, we will explain it to the extent legally permitted.

10. Children's Privacy

This website is intended for business and workplace audiences and is not directed to children under 16.

We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through general website forms. If you believe a child has submitted personal information through the website, contact us so we can review and address it.

Workplace records provided by an employer client may occasionally contain information concerning a minor. Such information is handled only for the authorized client purpose and according to applicable law.

11. External Websites and Services

The website contains links to third-party websites and services. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies.

This includes government resources, Google scheduling and meeting services, and the VideoPeel misconduct-intake platform.

We encourage you to review a third party's privacy policy before submitting information through its service.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our services, data practices, vendors, or legal obligations.

The "Last updated" date identifies the current version. Material changes will be communicated when required by law.

13. Contact

Questions, privacy requests, and appeals may be directed to:

Do not use the misconduct-reporting hotline for general privacy questions. The hotline is reserved for workplace reports and is handled as confidential case intake.