How IT'SUGAR Stays on Top of Compliance During Rapid Retail Expansion

The challenge

Managing compliance without reliable legal info was a sour experience

Behind every company with ambitious growth goals, you often find HR teams left scrambling (or just scraping by) to keep up with requirements and regulations in all states they operate in. This was no different for Jennifer Johnson, director of people and culture at IT’SUGAR—an innovative online candy retailer operating in 29 states and employing over 850 people.

As IT’SUGAR continued to expand its footprint of brick-and-mortar locations and add both exempt and non-exempt employees in new states, Johnson found herself navigating an overwhelming influx of compliance hoops to jump through.

Managing employee handbooks was daunting, with Johnson and her team primarily relying on email alerts or free resources from various organizations and publications to try and track changes to the law. For larger updates to handbooks, her team would use external counsel—but this often meant extensive back-and-forth and slower turnaround times.

“Everybody on the team was pulling information independently. We eventually had to ask ourselves, ‘How do we become more compliant and automate some of this stuff?’ Because you can’t possibly keep up.”

– Jennifer Johnson, Director of People and Culture, IT’SUGAR

The problem? The free resources Johnson’s team kept tabs on often provided incomplete or competing information, making it unclear what compliance action IT’SUGAR needed to take. Payroll compliance was a particular challenge, and the lack of a reliable source of legal information led to costly errors, including overtime miscalculations requiring back pay in some states. Jennifer knew the organization needed a centralized, real-time compliance solution to save time, reduce costs, and minimize compliance risks.

The solution

SixFifty arms IT’SUGAR with accurate employment updates—right when they need them

Jennifer discovered SixFifty’s employment law compliance software, which offered a one-stop solution for managing multi-state compliance—and in particular, easily updating employee handbooks with state-specific addenda.

IT’SUGAR could now make handbook updates in minutes, leveraging automated tools that flagged and implemented legal changes in real time.

SixFifty also equipped the IT’SUGAR HR team with valuable resources such as the 50-State Hiring Toolkit and the Exempt/Non-Exempt Analyzer. 

These tools provided clarity on state-specific employment requirements, allowing the company to expand confidently into new markets. The automated updates feature also simplified compliance management by highlighting required changes—making implementation seamless.

The results

IT’SUGAR’s HR team is now able to operate with peace of mind

Since adopting SixFifty, IT’SUGAR has radically transformed its approach to compliance. 

Johnson estimated the platform saves her team 20 to 30 hours per month, roughly equivalent to the workload of half a full-time employee, but at a fraction of the cost.

SixFifty’s automated updates feature alone allowed Jennifer to update multiple state addenda in less than five minutes—tasks that previously required significant time and expense. By replacing manual processes and external legal consultations, IT’SUGAR avoided annual handbook fees of around $10,000 per update when sending to external counsel.

“Before, we had to use our own free resources to track changes in between major update cycles, and we would still miss things. But now, I just have it in real time. And I think that ease of mind is almost priceless.”

– Jennifer Johnson, Director of People and Culture, IT’SUGAR

During IT’SUGAR’s organizational restructuring, SixFifty’s tools proved invaluable in generating compliant agreements and guiding the HR team through changes efficiently. Ultimately, SixFifty provided IT’SUGAR with confidence, enabling Jennifer and her team to stay ahead of complex compliance demands while supporting the company’s continued growth.