This week in 5 numbers: AI trainer jobs are surging

Here’s a roundup of numbers from the last week of HR news — including how much March Madness-related distractions can cost companies.

NAMI: 1 in 4 workers considered quitting over their job’s toll on their mental health

Less than a third of employees said they have received any mental health-related training at work, the report found.

Employers can use March Madness to reengage burnt-out workers, firm suggests

Rather than trying to quash worker distraction or absences tied to the annual tournament, companies should embrace the bracketology.

Major urban hubs boomerang as best source for global talent, analysis finds

U.S. workers are now as close to major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, as they were in 2021 prior to the pandemic-era exodus, Deel reported.

A PIP is not always an adverse action under SCOTUS’ relaxed bias test, court says

The decision may demonstrate some of the limits of Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, which employer-side attorneys have argued favors plaintiffs alleging job discrimination.

Updated March 23, 2026

Chinese engineer can’t pursue age, racial bias lawsuit, 10th Circuit affirms

The City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, chose a candidate with greater leadership experience for a management position, the appeals court said.

How the gender wage gap may be both structural and psychological

The glass ceiling and promotional bias hold women back, but so do women’s own expectations of themselves, according to recent reports.

The hospitality industry’s gender pay gap is ‘structural,’ analysis finds

Progress on the pay gap has generally stalled, various reports indicate, and it is particularly notable in food service.

Top HR executives are gaining prominence, Conference Board says

“Growth in CHRO and CTO roles signals that talent, culture and digital capability are now viewed as enterprise risks, not support functions,” one researcher said.

How a Florida pronoun bill could clash with Title VII

HR Dive’s Caroline Colvin digs a little deeper into the legal implications — or complications — of HB 641, or the proposed Freedom of Conscience in the Workplace Act.

Disney executive alleges HR combed his private coaching sessions for ‘dirt’

The exec butted heads with HR due to his “his direct, streamlined, and performance-driven leadership style,” a complaint alleged.

AI boom drives worker compensation cuts, study finds

Both jobs and paychecks are taking a hit as companies ramp up artificial intelligence spending to avoid falling behind competitors, according to the research.

Employees say AI does more harm than good

There’s a “growing concern about the pace of AI adoption and a clear gap in employer support,” according to a Jobs for the Future vice president.

Skills-based talent practices can create $125K in ROI per worker, report says

The research, which focused on the cybersecurity field, highlights what other studies have said: L&D is key to both retention and fixing skill gaps.

Feds keep marijuana tests for workers despite Trump reclassification order

Several years of legalization efforts at the state level have enhanced compliance concerns for employers.

Same-race bias, unbalanced DEI training: 4 lessons from recent Title VII cases

During last week’s National Employment Law Institute briefing, attorneys touched on how employers have messed up — or been saved — by their understanding of the law.

GuardDog Telehealth admits to improper record sharing in Epic court case

In an agreement between the two companies, GuardDog admitted it masqueraded as a healthcare provider in order to gain access to medical records.

Meet the former feds operating a ‘shadow’ EEOC

The group hopes to provide guidance to stakeholders “given the EEOC’s abdication of its responsibilities to do so,” said Jocelyn Samuels, former vice chair for the agency.

Office space must support learning and well-being to attract workers, design firm says

Tension around RTO may have eased in recent months, but employers still need to ensure physical spaces are responsive to employees’ needs, according to Gensler.

Week in review: Workday lawsuit survives another day

We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from mandatory artificial intelligence usage to “corporate BS.”

Lush agrees to settle gender identity bias lawsuit dropped by EEOC

The outcome demonstrates how similar cases may continue to live on in spite of the agency’s ideological shift.

‘Monitoring’ during meal breaks did not need compensation, 6th Circuit says

A security guard’s lawsuit was properly dismissed because it gave no indication of how often, if at all, monitoring the radio and responding to calls interrupted his breaks.

Most companies have ‘no formal approach’ to change communication, survey says

“If every message carries a sense of urgency, employees begin to tune out rather than listen closer,” a Gallagher exec said.

Anthropic: AI’s influence over the labor market is only beginning to be felt

The Claude developer found that hiring seems to have slowed for younger workers in certain occupations.

AI trailed DEI, immigration in 2025 compliance impact, employers say

The combination of regulatory and economic uncertainty prompted more than one-third of employers in a Littler survey to reduce headcount within the past year.