Employees are motivated to ask for raises , but HR professionals and managers must balance requests against realistic budgets and internal equity. There are various factors to keep in mind.

• Key rules of engagement. Proven strategies for successfully managing difficult employee conversations.
• Framing discussions with employees’ career and professional development in mind. How to shape conversations to foster understanding and resolution.
• Power of self-awareness over anger. Encouraging employees to take responsibility for issues without creating hostility.
• Legally safe scripts. How to navigate “off the record” discussions with employees while protecting your company.
• Addressing new supervisor syndrome. Tailoring your approach for new managers vs. experienced leaders.
• Stopping attitude problems. 3 practical steps to tackle entitlement and attitude issues effectively.
• Sample scripts for common issues. Guidance on addressing challenges like substandard job performance, inappropriate workplace behavior and lack of reliability (attendance/tardiness).
• Handling sensitive topics. Best practices for resolving issues like personal hygiene, foul language and termination.

As an HR professional, you know employers can’t ask job candidates questions that reflect sex-based bias or block them from jobs because of their sex. And you know it’s your responsibility to tell hiring managers and supervisors exactly that. But what happens if your organization ignores your expert advice?

Littler’s 2025 Labor Day Report points to a year defined by legal battles, state-level countermeasures and ongoing questions about the balance of power between employers, workers and regulators. These are the major trends to watch, according to the law firm.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act allows employees to deduct $25,000 of tips on their 1040s through 2028. The principal question the proposed regs must answer will be: How can employees be prevented from reclassifying taxable wages as deductible tips?

Do employers need to pay nursing mothers during the breaks they take to pump?

The Department of Labor’s delayed spring 2025 regulatory agenda includes a separate item on long-term regulatory plans, which includes working on overtime rules.

On Sept. 4, the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry into how noncompetes affect workers and employers—while simultaneously ordering a major company to stop enforcing restrictive contracts on nearly 1,800 employees. Just one day later, however, the agency backed away from defending its broader Non-Compete Clause Rule in court, leaving employers to navigate a patchwork of evolving restrictions and enforcement risks.

We just fell below 50 employees. Does that mean we don’t have to provide FMLA leave?

Writing job descriptions for all of the positions in your company may sound like a lot of work, especially when they are not required by any law. But there are plenty of legal reasons why you should have them.