The EEOC has recently made it clear that an enforcement priority going forward is protecting American workers from discrimination in favor of foreign workers. The agency updated its webpage portal for national-origin discrimination and provided a one-page information sheet directed at American workers who think they may have experienced national-origin discrimination.
It’s likely new return-to-work policies will face legal challenges, especially by disabled employees who have been using an accommodation like telework and performing their jobs well. Altering accommodations generally requires some change to performance or the underlying disability.
While the federal minimum wage has not risen since being set at $7.25 per hour in 2009, many state and local governments have implemented increases to keep up with rising costs. Here are some of the increases effective Jan. 1.
• Review our checklist of 2025 updates, and make any required changes to your policies that you may have missed.
• Prepare for anticipated handbook policy changes in 2026, and get suggested language to aid in your revisions.
• Find out how to keep DEI policies compliant under new federal directives.
• Prepare for shifts in religious accommodation rules and learn how to build compliant policies.
• Learn the key DOL changes: Overtime, heat rules and other workplace basics.
• Discover pregnancy-related EEOC updates and their implications for your policies.
As we approach 2026, there’s a natural urge to start anew. For an HR professional, that may mean clearing out old personnel records. But before hitting Delete or firing up the shredder, consider your legal obligations. Here’s a quick rundown of which records can go and which you should retain.
• I-9 modernization updates. Review recent changes to I-9 processes, including remote verification, E-Verify and the increased scrutiny of electronic I-9 systems provided by outside vendors.
• ICE visits and raid preparation. Know exactly what to do before ICE drops by, including spotting and fixing I-9 problems.
• Correcting issues. Identify and address missing or incomplete Forms I-9 and other common issues.
• Increased enforcement. Learn tactics to navigate the new ICE taskforces and Homeland Security’s I-9 audit quotas leading to dramatic increases in enforcement activity.
• Avoid operational impacts. Discover steps that can be taken now to avoid the impact of losing your workforce in a sudden raid or I-9 audit.
• Employer liability and joint employment. Explore government priorities around criminal prosecution of employers and a continued emphasis on joint employment with staffing agencies and contractors.
• Answers to YOUR questions. In a recent webinar, numerous questions were asked of the presenter. Bring your unique questions and get all of them answered.
Workplace conversations about inclusion often rise and fall with the calendar. Recognition months prompt reflection, learning and good intentions, but those efforts don’t always translate into day-to-day behavior. HR teams sit at the center of that gap, with the opportunity to turn moments of awareness into practical habits that shape how employees experience work year-round.
The newly constituted board will likely tackle priorities stymied over the past 11 months.
• Leave as an accommodation. Understand when leave may not qualify as a reasonable accommodation (rarely) and when it may be required for cases of infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth and more.
• Guaranteed accommodations. Walk away with a checklist of the accommodations the EEOC says you can’t question—no doctor’s note, no forms, no delay.
• Top practical accommodations. Easy-to-implement, detailed, practical accommodations that won’t unduly disrupt the workplace while complying with the law.
• Lessons from the courtroom. Now that lawsuits have gone to court or settled, embrace lessons learned the hard way so you won’t repeat them.
• Compliant break rooms no matter your industry. Walk away with instructions for creating compliant milk-expression rooms for any workplace.
• Postpartum accommodations. Understand the obligations you have postpartum, including how soon you may have to bring new mothers back, even if they still can’t perform every essential function.
