• HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

HR professional wins right to trial for reporting harassment

08/03/2026
HR professionals know they’re responsible for protecting their organization from harassment and discrimination lawsuits and the huge jury awards that may follow. It’s literally part of the job. But sometimes doing one’s job comes with risk, especially when the organization’s higher ups are the ones allegedly doing the harassment and discrimination. Fortunately, a new federal… View Article

DHS tells employers Haitian TPS work authorizations officially cancelled

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

Employment practices insurance lawsuit highlights punitive damages risk

08/03/2026
Employers maintain insurance coverage for employment practices liability just in case a jury concludes an employer violated a worker’s rights. These policies are designed to cover a wide variety of alleged employment wrongs and come with a promise to defend the employer. But there are limits to what actions the policies cover, a recent lawsuit… View Article

New HR investigations problem: AI deepfake evidence

08/03/2026
For decades, workplace harassment and discrimination complaints frequently came down to credibility when employers investigated claims. Often, the investigation turned into dueling narratives and HR had to determine who was telling the truth. That was especially true for sexual and other harassment unless the victim kept incriminating notes or co-workers who witnessed harassment spoke up…. View Article

Simple way to avoid FMLA usage dispute

07/27/2026
Sometimes, a million-dollar lawsuit can be avoided with a few easy administrative steps. That’s the lesson of a recently reinstated FMLA lawsuit that could have been avoided easily. Here’s what happened. An Amazon employee requested intermittent leave under the FMLA. He needed the periodic time off to care for his wife. Amazon approved his intermittent… View Article

Second-hand harassment creates hostile environment

07/27/2026
Here’s a warning for employers facing charges that they allowed a hostile work environment to thrive – if there are multiple victims and one of those victims observe another victim harassed, that second-hand harassment is further evidence. Ignoring complaints won’t make them go away. In fact, doing so may just magnify the harassment and make… View Article

IRS adds paid state family and medical leave benefits to Form 1099-G

07/27/2026
If you have employees in a state that offers workers paid family and medical leave benefits, the IRS wants taxpayers to know that’s reportable income subject to taxation. It has now revised Form1099-G to include a line for states to report those benefits to the IRS. That’s the 1099 form that reports “certain government payments.”… View Article

House Education and Workforce committee moves slew of bills to floor

07/27/2026
The House Education and Workforce committee has voted to advance several bills to the floor. If passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump, the legislation will impact employers. For example, if it becomes law, the Heat Workforce Standards Act of 2025 would bar the Secretary of Labor from… View Article

Employer wins rare undue hardship accommodation case

07/27/2026
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that employers provide disabled workers with reasonable accommodations that allow those workers to perform their jobs’ essential functions. But there’s an exception. If an employer can show that making the accommodation results in undue hardship for the employer, it doesn’t have to make the accommodation. It becomes unreasonable…. View Article

Workplace safety depends on housekeeping

07/27/2026
Employers are required to provide workers with a safe work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires it,  as do states with their own version of OSHA. And each agency has extensive regulations and guidance on exactly how the achieve a satisfactory safety record. Following those rules is a good start, but there’s… View Article