News

The January report signals a labor market operating in a persistent low-hire, low-fire pattern that will likely extend through 2026. HR leaders should prepare for continued wage pressure even as hiring slows, particularly in health care and technical roles, where competition remains fierce.

Candidate authenticity has displaced the traditional “not enough qualified candidates” complaint in the hiring world. Generative AI raised the floor of résumé quality and candidate presentation, forcing HR teams to refocus their energy on skill validation, structured interviews and identity assurance.

Dubbed SALUTE for Support and Assistance for Leaders in USERRA Training and Employment, the program allows employers to ask for technical assistance to better understand their obligations.

Just a few weeks after EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas took to social media site X to plea for white men who believe they have been discriminated against because of their race, sex or both to file complaints, a plaintiff has filed a failure-to-hire lawsuit based on reverse discrimination.

Many frivolous cases will be tossed out without ever having been seen by an NLRB investigator if the information isn’t submitted within two weeks.

When HR launches a discrimination or harassment investigation, it’s a good idea to stay attuned to how that investigation may look to outsiders a year or so down the line. That requires those performing the investigation to put aside any preconceived notions about what happened.

If you’re still utilizing noncompete agreements, there’s news on the state front. Many states that regulate their use set earnings limits below which noncompete agreements can’t be enforced and update those limits every year. This year is no different.

Does the PUMP Act support/cover an accommodation in the form of 100% telework for a breastfeeding mother?

“Illegal” DEI started out relatively undefined. The EEOC and the Department of Justice have been refining its definition ever since. The problem: The government’s definition of DEI runs headlong into Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which are still good law, and against two Supreme Court decisions affirming employers’ voluntary DEI programs in narrow circumstances.

Heading into the Valentine’s Day holiday is always a good time for HR professionals to dust off their company’s fraternization policies, and to remind your managers and employees of these guidelines.