Tag: HR professionals

New DOL Opinion Letter on Commute Time Provides Clear Guidance

On July 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new opinion letter analyzing whether travel time between an employee’s home and work would be considered compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as hours worked. Travel before and after vs. travel during Specifically, in FLSA2026-9 opinion letter, the employer’s inquiry centered […]

Soft skills

Why Soft Skills Development Is Your Ultimate Competitive Strategy for 2027 

Today’s workplace is weird.   Employees are highly connected to their technology, constantly communicating with an army of AI chatbots, SaaS services, and digital collaboration platforms. At the same time, they are profoundly disconnected from their customers and co-workers.   Constant digitalization, remote work, and now outsourcing communication to AI have created an empathy and soft-skills deficit. […]

SPARK Talent: Fanatics Three Keys to Leadership

Success in the workforce starts with your leaders. If those taking charge don’t have clarity and a focused direction, their talent will lag behind. But knowing exactly where you, your team, and your talent needs to go isn’t always simple, and sometimes, you need to bet on your success. Few know this better than Ericka […]

Workplace Weapons: Can Employers in Idaho and Utah Ban Firearms?

Private employers sometimes have questions about firearms at work. Can a private employer prohibit employees from carrying firearms and other weapons on its premises, including those with a valid concealed-carry permit? And are there any legal or privacy concerns with requiring employees who are carrying to disclose this information to management? Questions about whether an […]

Responding to OSHA Investigation: What You Do in the First 24 Hours Matters

A serious workplace incident rarely ends with the incident itself. For many employers, the next challenge arrives when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) begins asking questions. The steps taken during the first 24 hours often shape the course of the agency’s investigation and can affect the company’s position in any resulting enforcement action […]

HRDA Frankly Speaking: You Have to Stop Playing Hero

Success in the workforce starts with your leaders. If those taking charge don’t have clarity and a focused direction, their talent will lag behind. But knowing exactly where you, your team, and your talent needs to go isn’t always simple, and sometimes, you need to bet on your success. Few know this better than Erika […]

Bias, Bots and Boundaries: Practical Tips for Avoiding Liability in AI Recruiting

Artificial intelligence can make recruiting faster, but legal responsibility does not disappear when technology enters the hiring process. That point is being tested in Mobley v. Workday, Inc., Case No. 3:23-cv-00770- RFL (N.D. Cal. 2023), a federal lawsuit pending in the Northern District of California, in which job applicants allege that Workday’s AI-based applicant-screening tools […]

Supreme Court

What Employers Should Know About Recent TPS Changes

On June 25, 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Mullin v. Doe, in which the Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with the termination of temporary protected status (TPS) designations for Haiti and Syria. Under the TPS statute, which was enacted in 1990, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary […]

5th Circuit Rules Employee With 27 Work Deficiencies Still Makes It to Jury

You read the headline right: Despite 27 workplace violations, a three-judge panel from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appeals court for Texas) decided the employee still gets to take her Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims to trial. Yes, it was by a 2-to-1 […]

EntertainHR: Home Runs and Hard Caps: the Looming MLB Labor Battle 

While it looks like more of the same this year in Major League Baseball (“MLB”), as the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to load up for a run at a third straight World Series Championship, there could be major changes on the horizon as the collective bargaining agreement between the […]