A human resource (HR) audit is a comprehensive review of a company's systems and processes to determine if they meet current and projected HR needs, whether such systems are in compliance with current state, local and federal regulations, and whether the company's internal processes include practices that minimize legal liability. The HR audit allows a company to systematically measure where it currently stands and what actions need to be taken to improve its human resources function.

Lost in the turmoil over the constitutionality of same sex marriage are the state statutes that already provide benefits to same sex partners, whether or not their unions are sanctioned as marriages. Vermont, Hawaii, New Jersey and California have conferred rights on domestic partners. Eleven other states have conferred limited rights by banning sexual orientation discrimination. Others may follow. This article focuses on the California statute to illustrate the types of issues that employers will face in jurisdictions that recognize domestic partner rights.