Employer of Record · Americas
Employer of Record (EOR) in United States
A US Employer of Record is a licensed company that employs your worker in the relevant state, handling federal and state withholding, FICA, unemployment insurance and benefits. TalentStores matches and orchestrates vetted US EOR partners from one platform.
- Time to hire
- 2–5 days
- Employer burden
- ~10–15%
- Payroll cycle
- Semi-monthly
- Currency
- USD
Why hire in United States
The US is the deepest single market for senior commercial, product and engineering talent, and for most companies it is the first country where a remote hire becomes strategically unavoidable. The complication is that US employment is not one jurisdiction — it is federal law layered under fifty state regimes, each with its own registration, withholding, unemployment insurance account and leave rules.
Registering as an employer in a single state can take weeks and creates an ongoing filing obligation even for one employee. An EOR partner already holds those registrations, so hiring in California, New York or Texas becomes a days-long process rather than a quarter-long project.
Largest senior talent pool
Depth in enterprise sales, product, AI and platform engineering that few other markets can match.
No entity, no state registrations
Skip incorporation, registered agent, state payroll tax accounts and unemployment insurance setup.
Fifty-state coverage
Hire wherever the candidate lives; the partner already holds the state registrations.
Competitive benefits without scale
Access group medical, dental, vision and 401(k) plans priced for a large risk pool.
At-will flexibility, handled correctly
Terminations run through partner counsel with final-pay timing rules applied per state.
Time-zone alignment
Full overlap with US customers and investors without relocating your team.
Compliance and statutory requirements in United States
Leave and holiday entitlements, social security, termination rules and payroll cadence — the obligations your employment partner carries on your behalf.
Paid leave and PTO
No federal statutory minimum — market practice is 15–20 days PTO. State and city paid-sick-leave mandates apply in California, New York, Washington and many others.
Public holidays
Eleven federal holidays; not legally mandated as paid time off for private employers, but standard in competitive offers.
Social security contributions
FICA at 7.65% employer (6.2% Social Security to the wage base, 1.45% Medicare), plus federal and state unemployment insurance.
Termination rules
At-will in every state except Montana, but final-paycheck deadlines, accrued-PTO payout and COBRA notices are state-specific and strictly enforced.
Payroll cycle
Semi-monthly or bi-weekly depending on state pay-frequency law, with itemised wage statements required.
Benefits and ACA
Group health offered through the partner's plan; ACA reporting and eligibility tracking handled under the partner's plan documents.
Cost of employment in United States
Salary is only part of the number. These are the components that make up fully loaded cost, all modelled in USD before you extend an offer.
Base salary
The dominant cost; US benchmarks run well above most other markets for equivalent seniority.
FICA
7.65% employer contribution on wages up to the Social Security wage base, then 1.45% Medicare on the remainder.
Unemployment insurance
FUTA plus state UI, typically 1–4% of wages up to a low state wage base.
Health and benefits
Employer contribution to group medical, dental and vision — commonly USD 500–1,200 per employee per month.
Workers' compensation
Rate set by state and job classification; low for desk roles, material for field roles.
EOR and platform fee
Per-employee partner fee plus the TalentStores orchestration fee, itemised separately from statutory cost.
How TalentStores and the partner network deliver it
TalentStores is not the employer of record. We are the orchestration layer that selects, contracts and manages the licensed employment partner in United States — and gives you one system of record across every country you hire in.
Partner matched, not assumed
We match your role and headcount to vetted employment partners licensed in United States, and show you the fee, coverage and service levels side by side before you commit.
One contract, one platform
You contract with TalentStores. Partner agreements, employment contracts and amendments are generated, signed and stored against the employee record.
Cost modelled before offer
Statutory contributions, mandatory benefits, accruals and partner fees are calculated up front, so the offer you approve is the cost you actually carry.
Onboarding orchestrated
Document collection, background checks, registrations and start-date readiness run as a tracked workflow instead of an email thread.
Payroll and settlement in one bill
Every partner invoice flows through the commercial engine, reconciled per employee and settled on a single consolidated bill.
Compliance monitored continuously
Statutory changes in United States are pushed by the partner network and reflected in your cost model and contracts, not discovered at audit.
EOR in United States: frequently asked questions
Do we need a US entity to hire an American employee?
No. A US EOR partner employs the person under its own entity and state registrations, so you can hire in any state without incorporating or opening payroll tax accounts.
How long does US EOR onboarding take?
Most US hires are on payroll in two to five business days once the offer is accepted and I-9 and tax forms are completed. Benefit elections run on the partner's enrolment calendar.
What is the total employer cost on top of salary in the US?
Typically 10–15% of salary in statutory cost — FICA, federal and state unemployment insurance and workers' compensation — plus the employer share of health benefits and the EOR fee.
Can an EOR employee in the US receive equity?
Yes. Equity is granted by your company directly, outside the employment relationship with the partner. The platform records the grant alongside the employment record for cost visibility.
How do terminations work under at-will employment?
At-will still requires correct final-pay timing, accrued-PTO payout where the state mandates it, and COBRA notices. The partner runs the exit workflow with local counsel and the platform models the cost first.
Related solutions
Get the United States Hiring Cost Guide
A country brief covering fully loaded employment cost in USD, statutory contributions, leave and termination rules, and a sample offer breakdown for United States.
Ready to hire in United States?
Book a working session with our team, or take a self-guided tour of the platform first. Either way you will see the real workflow, partners and commercials before you commit.
Prefer numbers first? See pricing