News

The U.S. Department of Transportation proposes to amend its drug-testing program regulation, 49 CFR Part 40, to add fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) and norfentanyl (a metabolite of fentanyl) to its drug-testing panels.

October is Disability Awareness Month, and 2025 marks the 35th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. What better time to remind managers that the ADA has opened the workplace to disabled individuals by requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified applicants and employees?

When investigating an employee’s complaint of harassment—sexual or otherwise—tailor your inquiries to the facts of that case.

Yes, you can ask for basic information about a request. That includes having the employee explain what particular religious belief the request is based on. But no, you can’t inquisition the employee on that belief beyond a few basic questions.

A recent 11th Circuit decision is a good reminder that repeated remarks from leadership about wanting “younger” workers can become powerful evidence of discrimination. Even when an employer points to other reasons for its decisions, a jury may not buy them if the paper trail does not line up.

The Supreme Court has started the 2025–2026 term, and it looks to be an interesting one for employers. Here’s a breakdown of pending cases and issues.

Two Department of Labor opinion letters—one from 2023 and one issued in October 2025—clarify how to calculate how many hours of FMLA leave an employee is eligible for.

At the 2025 HR Specialist Summit, Carrie Hoffman, labor and employment partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, reminded attendees that the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn’t grant employers much leeway. Exemptions are narrowly construed, the burden of proof is on the company and even small oversights can snowball into class claims.

The EEOC had been unable to vote on substantial policy changes since January, when President Donald Trump terminated two Democratic commissioners before their terms were set to expire.

The E-Verify system, temporarily unavailable during the first week of the government shutdown, resumed operations on October 9. U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services offered guidelines for employers on handling new hires who came on when the service was offline.