Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As Minnesota’s cabin season kicks into high gear, employers may find themselves fielding a familiar request: “Can I work remotely?” For many employees, the ask is simply a lifestyle preference—a desire to swap the office for a deck overlooking the water. But for others, the request may be rooted in a medical condition that makes […]
Employers and tech companies face real litigation risk when they process voice data in ways that could be used to identify individuals, even if they never actually use the data for that purpose. That is the key takeaway from Delgado v. Meta Platforms, Inc., where a federal court in California denied Meta’s request for summary […]
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) has quickly moved from “new law” to active enforcement priority. Effective June 27, 2023, the PWFA requires covered employers—generally those with 15 or more employees—to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would impose […]
When an employee complains about workplace harassment, opening an investigation is an important first step, but it isn’t the last one. A recent decision from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all employers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) reminds employers that once they learn about possible harassment, they must respond […]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed significant changes to Form AR-11, the address change form that most foreign nationals in the United States must file within 10 days of moving. Although the address reporting obligation is long-standing, the proposed revisions would expand the form well beyond a routine address update, collecting employment, schooling, […]
Most HR professionals are aware that, under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and similar state laws, they must provide military leave for employees with military service obligations, such as those who serve in the National Guard and military reserves, and reemploy them when that duty is over. What often isn’t as […]
A teacher’s discrimination suit against his former school district reminds employers of the evidentiary burdens employees face and shows what a defensible investigation looks like. What Happened Joe Bravo, a teacher of Mexican-American descent, was accused by six different students of making racially and culturally insensitive remarks about their educational prospects. The Dallas Independent School […]
In response to a request from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Andrea Lucas, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on June 9 issued an opinion declaring the EEOC’s current guidance on disparate impact under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be unconstitutional. Background The concept […]
A recent study by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) provides new large-scale evidence that artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tools can produce racially disparate outcomes. For employers increasingly relying on automated screening to manage applicant volume, the study raises significant legal risk, particularly under long-standing disparate impact principles. Details The Stanford researchers analyzed […]
As HR professionals, and really as people, we opt to be nice and polite when dealing with anything in the workplace. But what happens when that blanket “agreeable”-ness produces a stagnant and stale environment instead of something productive? When the status quo becomes more harm than good, how can you break the mold? Amira Barger, […]