Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to accommodate the religious practices of their employees unless doing so would impose an “undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.” Based on one sentence from a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court opinion, federal courts previously interpreted “undue hardship” to mean any effort […]
A divided House passed a bill that would impose strict bargaining timelines and final contracts on employers and labor groups when negotiating a first union contract. The Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) would empower arbitrators to impose final contract terms without a vote by either labor or management. Twenty Republicans joined 210 Democrats in supporting […]
On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, a coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia filed suit in the federal district court for the District of Maryland challenging the actions taken to implement Executive Order (EO) 14398, “Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors.” The lawsuit alleges the actions exceed statutory authority and were issued without […]
Q: Can we require employees to use accrued paid time off (PTO) before taking unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, or must we provide FMLA leave and allow them to take PTO during the leave if needed? Under the FMLA, employers may require employees to use accrued PTO, such as vacation leave, personal […]
On June 9, our federal court of appeals gave the go-ahead to a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit made personally against a CEO accused of masterminding the theft of competitors’ trade secrets. In an increasingly competitive business environment, new tools are welcome in fighting unfair practices. What is RICO? Back in 1970, […]
On April 23, 2026, the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration took the most consequential step in federal cannabis policy in more than five decades, placing FDA-approved cannabis products and state-licensed medical marijuana into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. A DEA hearing beginning June 29, 2026, will consider whether broader rescheduling, including recreational […]
Evidence is piling up that many in today’s workplace are not OK. Stressors like financial insecurity, worries about AI, and political strife spilling into the workplace are dragging people down. And employers and employees aren’t always coping well. While no perfect solution is likely to surface, suggestions abound on how employers can help. Trust Versus […]
I didn’t like giving reviews, and I don’t like receiving them. There must be a better way. Here are some suggestions generated by “Gen AI Could Fix Performance Reviews—or Make Them Even Worse,” an article in the Harvard Business Review by Chrysanthos Dellarocas (May 26, 2026). Challenge We all fool ourselves. A recent study shows […]
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) most recent published annual reporting, claims for disability-related discrimination (38%) outpaced race (34%) and sex (26%) related filings. Indeed, in the past three reporting years, the number of charges filed claiming disability-related discrimination increased by 34% (25,004 to 33,668), more than in any other filing category. Disability […]
For the first time in almost 30 years, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has updated its Form I-9 inspection fact sheet. The changes were issued without any notice in the Federal Register, and there was no proposed rulemaking. The revisions replace many provisions of the 1997 Virtue memorandum, which governed compliance until now, and […]