• HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Hiring

Employer pays $1.3 million for pro-Hispanic discrimination

10/11/2026
In September, Andrea Lucas, Chair of the EEOC, took to social media to ask American workers who suspected their national origin was used against them by prospective and current employers to report discrimination to the EEOC. Lucas promised the agency is working hard to take their claims seriously and go after employers that favor applicants… View Article

DHS proposes $100K charge for international graduate student workers

10/11/2026
When foreign nationals attend college in the United States, their student visa comes with the opportunity to participate for 12 months in Optional Practical Training. There’s then a possibility of a second 12-month extension or an offer for sponsorship via the H-1B visa or up to 36 months of work for graduates in STEM fields…. View Article

Outsourcing HR to AI? Make sure HR makes final decisions

10/04/2026
We’ve all been hearing a lot lately about artificial intelligence (AI) running amok. AI agents have been caught seemingly doing things without their designers’ permission, including breaking into government and other systems. It’s gone far enough that the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Andrew Ferguson, recently suggested that the developers who create AI tools… View Article

Executive order may raise risk of hiring foreign labor after layoffs

10/04/2026
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that may raise the risk of hiring foreign labor following a company layoff or reduction-in-force (RIF). The order is part of a push to make sure American workers don’t lose their jobs only to find that their employer replaced them with foreign workers. The President signed the… View Article

New employer DEI worry – state enforcement

09/27/2026
Here’s a new worry for employers already struggling to comply with federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rules. States are also moving in on the action, with state attorneys general also going after employers for their perceived illegal DEI practices. Take, for example, the lawsuit brought by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier against Starbucks. That… View Article

Michigan launches centralized youth work permit system

09/27/2026
Michigan’s process for hiring teens has changed. Like most states, Michigan requires employers to confirm the employment status of workers under age 18 by requiring those workers to provide a work permit showing their age. That way, employers can avoid scheduling teens for more hours than they can legally work.  In Michigan, school districts have… View Article

Daycare shortage may be robbing employers of talent

09/21/2026
According to a recent report from the National Women’s Law Center, wait lists for daycare subsidies have nearly doubled in the last two years. That’s the biggest year-to-year increase since the Center began collecting data 20 years ago. Daycare subsidies are essential for many low-to-middle-income parents, who cannot afford the going rates for commercial daycare… View Article

Judge orders jury trial in SHRM service dog case

09/21/2026
In a case that may test the limits of how far employers must go to offer alternative reasonable accommodations, a federal judge has ordered a jury trial against the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The conventional legal wisdom has long been that if there are multiple reasonable accommodations possible, the employer may pick the… View Article

Younger workers anticipate job-hopping through fall

09/21/2026
A new survey from consulting firm Robert Half may spell trouble for employers with workers aged 29 and below who hold professional jobs. It seems they are impatient for pay raises and see finding a new job as the easiest path to riches – or at least keeping up with the rising cost of living…. View Article

New H-1B applications to cost $103,265

09/07/2026
The Department of Homeland Security is updating the cost and scope for filing an H-1B petition. Soon, employers will have to pay a $103,265 fee with each petition to sponsor a foreign worker for one of the limited number of visas available. The proposal is open for public comments until September 25 and goes further… View Article