The HR Specialist

08/09/2026

In a bit of bad news, the latest figures from the Department of Labor (DOL) show that the number of new jobs created and the workforce participation rate both fell in July. While analysts expected a job gain of about 80,000 positions, the DOL reported that jobs fell by about 23,000 positions. The unemployment rate... View Article

08/09/2026

Every year, the law firm Littler conducts an extensive employer survey designed to identify what worries employers most. This year, the Littler Annual Employer Survey Report revealed widespread worries about flexible work arrangements like telework, hybrid work and return-to-office policies. The main finding was that efforts to bring employees fully onsite have flattened and the... View Article

08/09/2026

A recent study sheds light on why some applicants or employees do better than others when negotiating a starting salary or pay increase. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management conducted a research study that included 1,100 human resource professionals confronted with applicants who were told they could negotiate their compensation. The study,... View Article

08/03/2026

A slew of EEOC settlements make it clear that the agency won’t tolerate customer preference as an excuse for staffing agency referrals that exclude members of a protected class. In the most recent settlement, a South Carolina staffing agency that the EEOC sued for not sending female laborers to client sites will pay $150,000 to... View Article

08/03/2026

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS)-linked employment authorizations for Haitians effective last week. The announcement came as a follow-up to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Mullin v. Doe, in which the court determined that DHS has the authority to terminate TPS for citizens of countries that no... View Article

05/31/2026

When a reduction in force moves from discussion to action, the biggest risk isn’t the decision itself—it’s how it’s carried out.