Compliance
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Trump calls for federal policy framework preempting state AI laws
The executive order comes as Big Tech pushes back on local AI regulation while pouring billions into building out AI infrastructure and deploying new products.
By Makenzie Holland • Dec. 12, 2025 -
Verizon dealer didn’t violate ADA by firing employee with depression, court finds
Employers don’t have to retroactively accommodate an employee to excuse past performance problems, even if the problems resulted from a disability, a federal district court said.
By Laurel Kalser • Dec. 12, 2025 -
Marriott companies settle EEOC claim they revoked employee’s Sabbath accommodation
The former worker, a Seventh-Day Adventist, had received Saturdays off until a change in management ended the religious accommodation, according to the agency.
By Emilie Shumway • Dec. 12, 2025 -
Matt Popovich. (2015). "Snowy Labor Department Sign" [photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
DOL: Subcontractor made workers fork over wages in alleged kickback scheme
Regulators barred the employer from federal contract work for three years, citing the “willful” nature of the violations.
By Ryan Golden • Dec. 12, 2025 -
Starbucks’ ‘illegal race-based’ DEI at center of Florida AG’s lawsuit
Starbucks said its hiring practices are “inclusive, fair and competitive, and designed to ensure the strongest candidate for every job, every time.”
By Caroline Colvin • Dec. 11, 2025 -
2026 may mean an extra biweekly pay period. Here’s how HR can prepare.
The phenomenon occurs approximately every 11 to 12 years for affected employers, necessitating a 27th pay day.
By Ryan Golden • Dec. 11, 2025 -
Daderot. (2013). "Liberty Mutual Tower" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
Jury slams Liberty Mutual with $103M verdict after age bias trial
Lawyers for the plaintiff said this is “believed to be the largest age discrimination verdict ever recorded in the United States.”
By Ginger Christ • Dec. 10, 2025 -
Trump pledges order addressing patchwork of state AI laws
The move comes after the president and big tech unsuccessfully pushed for congressional action on the issue.
By Alexei Alexis • Dec. 10, 2025 -
AT&T’s promise to scrap DEI decried as ‘short-sighted’
Many corporate analysts, talent strategists and ESG advocates have condemned the decision, which was tied to the Federal Communications Commission’s pending approval of an acquisition.
By Caroline Colvin • Dec. 10, 2025 -
EEOC opens claims process in $21M Columbia University settlement
The agency alleged the university engaged in a pattern or practice of harassment against Jewish employees since at least Oct. 7, 2023.
By Emilie Shumway • Dec. 9, 2025 -
Opinion
FLSA misclassification is common, costly and completely avoidable
Compliance can be easy, writes Jones Walker partner Sid Lewis, but employers too often fall asleep at the wheel.
By Sid Lewis • Dec. 9, 2025 -
AT&T drops DEI, gets $1B acquisition of UScellular greenlit
The telecommunications company committed to scrapping policies and programs focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in a bid to get a deal approved by the FCC.
By Zoya Mirza • Dec. 9, 2025 -
SCOTUS poised to deal blow to federal agency independence
Multiple members of the high court’s conservative majority criticized a 90-year-old decision that blocked presidents from firing regulatory leaders at will.
By Ryan Golden • Dec. 8, 2025 -
Jury hits SHRM with $11.5M verdict in racial bias, retaliation trial
The HR organization said the claim had no merit and vowed to appeal the decision.
By Emilie Shumway • Dec. 8, 2025 -
6 recent lawsuits alleging ADA violations at work
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must provide a reasonable accommodation to workers with disabilities unless doing so would pose an undue hardship.
By Ginger Christ • Dec. 8, 2025 -
EEOC: Refusing to hire applicants for taking methadone violates ADA
Although the ADA doesn’t cover people currently using illegal drugs, it does protect those with a past addiction, per the agency.
By Laurel Kalser • Dec. 5, 2025 -
NYC to move ahead with pay data reporting after mayor’s veto overridden
States and localities continue to advance pay equity legislation while federal action stalls.
By Ryan Golden • Dec. 5, 2025 -
State laws regulating AI take effect in the new year. Here’s what HR needs to know.
Employers will have to wrestle with tension between federal policy and state legislation.
By Caroline Colvin • Dec. 5, 2025 -
San Diego restaurant chain owners settle sexual harassment allegations for $650K
The restaurant operator “engaged in a pattern of hiring teenage girls as young as 16 years old based on their appearance and vulnerability,” according to a 2023 complaint from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
By Emilie Shumway • Dec. 4, 2025 -
This week in 5 numbers: Trial in SHRM’s 3-year-old lawsuit begins
Here’s a roundup of numbers from the last week of HR news — including how many U.S. workers say they’re burnt out.
By Ginger Christ • Dec. 4, 2025 -
H-1B visa applicants will now have their social media scrutinized
The move is the latest measure from President Donald Trump’s administration to make the immigration process more stringent.
By Caroline Colvin • Dec. 4, 2025 -
Starbucks to pay $39M in New York City labor settlement
New York City alleged the company violated its Fair Workweek rules upwards of 500,000 times between 2021 and 2024.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Updated Dec. 4, 2025 -
Trump administration illegally fired workers for real or perceived DEI roles, lawsuit alleges
The president’s “anti-DEI”-related directives allegedly “were targeted actions intended to punish perceived political enemies.”
By Ginger Christ • Dec. 3, 2025 -
Opinion
Navigating the maze: A practical guide for employers dealing with employment administrative agencies
There are several steps HR and management can take to avoid common pitfalls at the administrative agency level, according to Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP attorneys.
By Susan Best, Stephanie Jones and Y’Noka Bass • Dec. 2, 2025 -
Seward and Son to pay $150K for allegedly preferring non-Americans over Black American workers
The Mississippi farming operation allegedly hired non-Black foreign agricultural workers and assigned them less strenuous, higher-paying jobs than Black American employees, according to an EEOC lawsuit.
By Laurel Kalser • Dec. 2, 2025