EEOC touts $15M agreement resolving COVID-19 vaccine bias claims

“There was no pandemic exception to workers’ civil rights and liberties,” Andrea Lucas, EEOC chair, said in a statement Tuesday.

Clarity is the key to supporting workers, ADP Research says

Fewer than 1 in 4 workers “confidently” said they believe their job is safe, per the report, revealing a communication problem.

Teams say they are being pushed to do more with less as AI increases their workload

Sacrificing engagement for performance might backfire, according to research from employee experience platform Culture Amp.

Poor management is driving workers away, report shows

A report from Aerotek shows a wide range of factors influencing the job search in Q1 2026, including an interest in skilled trades.

CFOs say they don’t expect a large AI labor impact this year

Though CFOs expect artificial intelligence to affect their teams’ overall composition, current investments in the technology remain focused on bolstering productivity rather than cost reduction, the survey found.

This week in 5 numbers: Worker engagement hits lowest level in a decade

Here’s a roundup of numbers from the last week of HR news — including how many workers receive artificial intelligence-generated “workslop” from their superiors.

Workers send nearly 3M messages a day to ChatGPT about wages, OpenAI reports

Most often, workers look for help with pay calculations and to figure out “what a concrete job, career path, or employer might plausibly pay before they apply, negotiate, or switch,” the artificial intelligence company said.

CHROs say AI is reshaping the HR operating model

Beyond artificial intelligence, geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty top CHROs’ lists of the external pressures guiding 2026 planning.

DOL launches free text message-based AI literacy course

The “Make America AI-Ready” initiative is part of a larger governmental push to retrain U.S. workers displaced by artificial intelligence.

3 charts on what CHROs think about AI and the future of their departments

Technology implementation is creeping upwards on the to-do lists of global HR leaders, yet few believe their organizations have the necessary capabilities in place.

Gender pay gap grows in 2026, report finds

Payscale noted that the gender pay gap exists at every education level and “widens significantly” as women age and progress in their careers.

Why paid sick leave is a DEI issue

A National Partnership for Women & Families report shows how the geography of “pre-emption” states can disproportionately affect certain groups.

Leaders who hand AI-generated ‘workslop’ to their employees may risk eroding trust

Receiving artificial intelligence-generated output that lacks accuracy or substance can damage team confidence, according to resume templates service Zety.

Permission to laugh at work?

Learning to navigate the balance between being funny at work and not harming your reputation “is becoming a modern workplace skill,” a Monster career expert said.

Workforce is ‘restless but largely immobile,’ Gallup finds

Worker engagement has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, and fewer than 3 in 10 workers feel it’s a “good time” to find a job, data showed.

Mastercard bets AI-powered virtual CFOs can fill gap at small firms

The company’s new “virtual CFO” tool is tailored for “lean teams” and designed to augment — not replace — human leadership, Mastercard’s Mark Barnett said.

How AI is spurring demand for skilled trade workers — not displacing them

“The digital revolution underway has a physical foundation,” Randstad CEO Sander van ’t Noordende said.

Leaders report a ‘growing gap’ between what’s expected of them and the support they receive

Most leaders say they perform work outside of their primary roles, according to new research from the American Management Association.

Toxic managers dehumanize employees, leading to extreme burnout, study says

“A human-centric approach to management” that focuses on restoring employee agency could help, a study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found. 

Enterprises aren’t aligned on AI ROI

As organizations scale AI, leaders must reconcile the need for immediate returns with the longer-term innovation potential that made the technology compelling in the first place, a TE Connectivity report found.

DOL sends new joint employer rule to White House

The forthcoming rule is expected to be friendlier to employers than present Fair Labor Standards Act regulations, one attorney told HR Dive.

Bimbo Bakeries can’t compel Massachusetts drivers to arbitrate misclassification claim

A federal district court said the drivers can pursue their state law case in court because they qualify as transportation workers excluded from coverage under the FAA.

A leader downplayed an HR investigation’s findings. What now?

It’s a difficult place for professionals to find themselves, attorneys told HR Dive, and moving forward requires understanding of both personal and organizational risks.

Why performance reviews are now continuous

Ken Lloyd, author of Performance Appraisals & Phrases for Dummies, spoke with HR Dive about what has shifted in talent development in 15 years.

Week in review: Feds stay the course on marijuana testing

We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from negative viewpoints on artificial intelligence to the ROI of skills-based hiring practices.