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This week, employers scrambled to deal with the implications of one very specific number implemented by the Trump administration as a fee on every new H-1B visa petition. Elsewhere, Glassdoor published a report documenting a decline in employee ratings of employers who conducted recent layoffs, and Starbucks workers sued the company, alleging they unlawfully paid for uniform expenses.
Here’s a closer look at those numbers and some others making headlines in the HR world.
By the numbers
$100,000
The amount employers submitting new H-1B visa petitions dated on or after Sept. 21, 2025, must pay in order to have the U.S. Department of Homeland Security consider such petitions. It was a busy week for the H-1B program, as DHS separately announced a proposed overhaul to the lottery system it intends to use to select H-1B petitions.
0.13 out of 5
The average decline that employers on Glassdoor experience — using the platform’s five-point scale — in their employee ratings after conducting layoffs, the company said in a report last week. Ratings dropped twice as far for highly rated companies who conducted layoffs.
$253.50
The highest out-of-pocket amount cited by a group of Colorado Starbucks employees for dress code-related expenses they alleged they were unlawfully not reimbursed for under state laws. The coffee chain faces legal actions over the costs in California, Colorado and Illinois.
3 in 10
The share of companies in a recent Resume.org survey that said they had already replaced jobs with artificial intelligence. The firm said its findings showed that high-salary employees and those who lack AI-related skills faced the highest risk of layoffs.
34%
Share of Americans in a PayrollOrg survey who said they were uncomfortable with the idea of employers using AI tools to calculate their pay. Forty-five percent also said they were opposed to the use of AI to address payroll inquiries.
