05-15-2025

Deputy (a workforce management platform) released an annual report entitled “The Big Shift: How Gen Z is Rewriting the Rules of Hourly Work.” In that report, Deputy looks at the micro-shift trend. Micro-shifts are “short, flexible shifts” (six hours or less) that balance the needs of both the employee and workplace. With many people needing multiple jobs to earn sufficient income, these shorter shifts help maintain stability and allow workers to manage other responsibilities. Deputy’s CEO says, “Micro-shifts aren’t about working less—they’re about working smarter.” Businesses that embrace this shift will “have a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent.”

05-14-2025

An IT specialist within the NLRB filed a protected whistleblower disclosure to Congress. He provided evidence that DOGE members accessed sensitive labor data, which showed anomalies such as missing log records and an increase in information leaving the agency. Labor law experts told NPR that sensitive information about unions, including ongoing legal cases and corporate secrets, may have been taken outside the agency. These experts stated that this information was irrelevant to agency efficiency or reducing costs. They expressed concern that private companies could abuse the information about legal strategies and competitors’ internal data.

05-13-2025

Aaron Fisher, a firefighter in Lansing, Michigan who had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), learned that he had to fill out a specific form and submit it to HR, along with a release of medical information and any necessary supporting documentation, to request an accommodation from the city. In a conversation with his Battalion Chief, Fisher asked if he could bring his dog to work for “3 to 6 months” as an emotional support animal. The chief agreed to the request, and Fisher did not ask HR. He brought his dog to work for about four months. When HR learned about the dog from one of Fisher’s co-workers, Fisher submitted a formal request using the approved form and a letter from his psychiatrist saying that Fisher needed the support animal during work hours. The city denied the request.

05-08-2025

Columbia’s and Barnard’s faculties received text messages from the EEOC asking them to complete a survey as part of Title VII investigations into the higher-ed institutions. The survey asked current and former employees (faculty, staff, and student workers) to indicate whether they were Jewish. These individuals were also asked if they had experienced any of nine types of discriminatory incidents based on their identity, including “unwelcome comments, jokes, or discussions,” “harassment [or] intimidation,” or “pressure to abandon, change or adopt a practice or religious belief.” The EEOC told the colleges’ employees it was “currently reviewing” their employers’ employment practices.

05-07-2025

Kohl’s fires Ashley Buchanan who became CEO on January 15 of this year. The company fired him because he “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.” Buchanan worked as the chief executive officer of Michaels before coming to Kohl’s. He had held the role at the craft store since 2020. Kohl’s Chairman of the Board, Michael Bender, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately. According to Kohl’s statement, Buchanan’s termination was unrelated to the company’s performance or any other business-related operations.

05-06-2025

The recently signed “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” executive order is intended to “eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability” in any way “to the maximum degree possible to avoid violating the Constitution, [f]ederal civil rights laws, and basic American ideals.” Individuals who bring discrimination claims based on a "disparate impact" allege that the application of a neutral policy or practice disproportionately impacts a particular group, such as women, individuals with disabilities, or specific racial and ethnic groups. The executive order (dated April 25, 2025) rescinds previous executive approvals of regulations that prohibit disparate impact discrimination under Title VI.

05-01-2025

Acting EEOC chair Andrea Lucas announced Shannon Royce as her new chief of staff. In announcing Royce’s hire, Lucas said that she was overseeing the “most ambitious civil rights agenda since practically the 1960s and 1970s.” Royce is the former Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) president, having left the organization in December. She was a member of President Trump’s first term administration, leading the Center for Faith-Based and Community Partnerships. Royce’s hiring may suggest that the EEOC will focus on Christian rights in its approach to workplace compliance with the anti-discrimination laws.

04-30-2025

The Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming legislatures have enacted laws recognizing gender as solely binary—male and female—and unchangeable, joining Iowa and other states that have passed similar laws. A new federal executive order defined sex as binary and immutable earlier this year. The EEOC chair has indicated her desire to rescind prior agency guidance related to gender identity once the agency has a quorum again. Employers in these states should consult with legal counsel regarding their obligations.

04-29-2025

Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Army to use “combat-neutral” fitness requirements for soldiers to be eligible for combat. Using “combat-neutral” standards will likely reduce the number of women who qualify for combat roles within the Army. Thus, potentially making it more difficult for the military to recruit and retain women for some military positions. These new standards will be phased in beginning in June and implemented by October 2025.