Terms and Conditions of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing, browsing, or utilizing the web platform of Human Resource Surgeons LLC (“Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) located at HRSurgeons.com, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Service, all applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any local, state, and federal rules. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site.

2. Scope of Advisory & Disclaimer of Legal Counsel

Nichelle Shillingford and Human Resource Surgeons LLC provide high-touch boutique HR consulting, employee relations advisory, and independent, third-party workplace investigation services.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: We are not a law firm. Our advisors do not provide formal legal counsel, attorney-level opinions, or legal representation.

All recommendations, progressive discipline frameworks, Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) calibrations, and diagnostic risk assessments generated by our tools (including the Workplace HR Risk Scorecard) are for strategic management, liability reduction, and operational coaching purposes only. They are not a substitute for formal, statutory legal review. Clients are strongly encouraged to coordinate final high-stakes employment separations or handbook policy approvals with their legal counsel.

3. Independent Sovereign Investigation Protocols

When retained to perform an independent board-level or corporate workplace investigation, Human Resource Surgeons LLC operates under a strict, sovereign mandate of complete neutrality. Our role is strictly to gather factual, legally defensible, and objective evidence, perform witness interviews, and author a certified factual findings matrix.

We do not serve as advocates for either the employer, the whistleblower, or the accused employee during an active independent investigation. We retain sole control over our investigative findings and methodology to insulate the Board, General Counsel, and private equity sponsors from conflict-of-interest allegations.

4. Client Retainers & Outcome Tiers

All consulting services, flat-fee independent investigation protocols, monthly Private Equity Portfolio EBITDA Retainers, and manager accountability sprints are governed by formal, written professional services agreements (SOW). Billing structures, milestone delivery targets, standard SLA responses, and hourly consulting rates ($250 to $350 per hour) are explicitly outlined in individual client agreements. Retainer retainers are paid monthly in advance and are non-refundable unless specified otherwise in writing.

5. Intellectual Property

The design, source code, interactive calculations, proprietary diagnostic methodologies of the Workplace HR Risk Scorecard, performance review calibration formats, and written text on HRSurgeons.com are the exclusive intellectual property of Human Resource Surgeons LLC and are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law. No part of this site or our diagnostic outputs may be reproduced, reverse-engineered, or re-branded without our express written consent.

6. Limitation of Liability

In no event shall Human Resource Surgeons LLC, Nichelle Shillingford, or our strategic delivery partners (including RJ Business Solutions) be held liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of deal margins, portfolio company EBITDA drops, wrongful separation litigation fees, or operational business interruption) arising out of the use of or inability to use our strategic advisory frameworks, even if we have been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage.

7. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions of Service and any dispute arising out of or related to our platform or consulting delivery shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of law principles.