HR Brew - Latest News and Information
An Irish bookkeeper in Leeds successfully sued her manager for repeatedly calling her “potato” and “stupid paddy,” remarks the tribunal deemed racial harassment. The Leeds Employment Tribunal awarded her £25,000 (about $31,000) after finding the language eroded her self‑esteem and caused severe anxiety. The manager admitted the behavior, claiming it was “banter,” but the judge rejected that defence. The case illustrates how repeated ethnic slurs, even framed as jokes, can trigger legal liability under UK harassment law.
A Littler survey shows 65% of U.S. businesses say recent Trump administration immigration rules have affected operations, with 24% reporting moderate staffing challenges. The Census Bureau estimates the domestic workforce shed roughly 1.2 million immigrant workers in the first half of...
A recent Placer.ai report shows February 2026 recorded the highest post‑pandemic office attendance, though still 31.9% below pre‑COVID 2019 levels. This marks an improvement from February 2025’s 35.7% shortfall and continues a gradual upward trend since the 2022‑2023 rebound. The...
Millennials now comprise the largest share of the U.S. workforce and hold the biggest slice of management roles, yet their engagement has slipped to roughly 30% across age brackets. The decline is tied to the “sandwich generation” pressure of caring...
The January 2026 JOLTS report shows labor turnover stalled despite job openings rising to 6.9 million. Total hires held steady at 5.3 million and quits slipped to 3.1 million, while layoffs edged down, reinforcing a “no‑hire, no‑fire” environment. This follows a 2025 slowdown...
The EEOC issued a 2‑1 decision overturning the 2015 Lusardi ruling, limiting transgender federal employees to bathrooms that correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Chair Andrea Lucas justified the move under Title VII, while Democrat member Kalpana Kotagal dissented,...
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski posted an Instagram video taking a tiny bite of a new burger, which quickly went viral and attracted criticism for appearing staged. Communication experts argue the clip felt inauthentic, eroding trust among consumers and employees. The...
The Department of Labor has announced a proposed rule that would rescind the Biden‑era “multifactor economic reality” test and return to a narrower test focused on control and profit opportunity. The change would give employers greater leeway to classify workers...
HR leaders RC Whitehouse and Colin H. Mincy recount painful missteps when delivering layoffs and terminations, highlighting how excessive empathy and unclear delivery turned sensitive conversations into grievance sessions. Both realized that overly emotional or rambling communication confuses employees and...
February’s employment report showed a net loss of 92,000 jobs, nudging the unemployment rate to 4.4% and pushing labor‑force participation down to 62%, its lowest level since late 2021. The decline was led by a 28,000‑job drop in healthcare, driven...
The EEOC issued new guidance allowing federal agencies to consider an employee’s social‑media activity when evaluating telework as a reasonable accommodation under the Rehabilitation Act. The agency stresses that such evidence cannot replace medical documentation or the interactive process, but...
AT&T has rolled out onsite therapy clinics across its U.S. offices, now operating ten locations and targeting twenty by year‑end. The Dallas hub, the program’s first site, logged more than 2,100 visits in 2025, averaging over 11 appointments per day....
Minted has introduced Nestment, a personalized home‑buyer education platform, as a new employee benefit. The move comes as first‑time homebuyer share hit a historic low of 21% in 2025 and the median age rose to 40. Nestment guides users from...
HR leaders are struggling to move beyond pilot projects toward true skills‑based organizations, a shift accelerated by AI’s impact on work. A BCG white paper finds most initiatives falter because they are isolated HR projects lacking alignment with overall business...
In 2025, 30% of U.S. small businesses (2‑99 employees) offered retirement plans, up from 19% in 2019, giving 21.1 million workers access to employer‑sponsored savings. The surge reflects state‑mandated Roth IRA programs and a strategic shift toward benefits that attract and...
