It may be time for employers to do some contingency planning should civil unrest hit locally. Here’s what employers can do.

Federal telework policies moved back into the spotlight after the Office of Personnel Management updated its guidance to emphasize in-person work as the default for most federal employees. While the revisions align with the Trump administration’s January 2025 return-to-office orders, the guidance also outlines practical guardrails that HR teams outside the government can use as benchmarks when reviewing their telework frameworks.

With winter weather in full force, it’s time to review the FLSA’s rules for working from home, if you haven’t already.

• Roth 401(k) catch-up contributions. This SECURE 2.0 provision kicks in this year and promises to challenge payroll professionals on multiple fronts.
• Tracking tips and overtime. Employees can deduct their tips and overtime. But they can’t deduct anything if you don’t report it on their W-2s. This means you must track these items every pay period.
• I-9 self-audit strategies. Conduct compliance reviews to meet stricter immigration enforcement protocols.
• Beyond the I-9 paperwork. Immigration agents are routinely raiding workplaces, but you have rights, too.
• What’s up with the DOL. The Wage and Hour Division has been issuing subregulatory guidance that affects FLSA and FMLA administration.
• PAID is back. PAID was the DOL’s alternative dispute-resolution program for FLSA violations. The uptake wasn’t terrific, so PAID was retired. But it’s back now, more robust than ever.
• IRS audit protocols. Master the latest IRS audit rules, including ERC audits, with 7 key stress-reducing tips.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed to allow qualified disabled workers the opportunity to enter the workforce if they can perform the essential functions of their job with or without a reasonable accommodation. But employers shouldn’t assume a disabled applicant can’t perform the job even with an accommodation before they hire the otherwise qualified applicant.

The EEOC made the request days after regaining a quorum, allowing Andrea Lucas to move forward with revising or eliminating the guidance altogether. She voted against the guidance in 2024, particularly the parts that found that harassment based on gender identity violates Title VII’s sex-discrimination provisions.

• How to use the TIME = LIFE framework to reduce stress and manage priorities.
• Simple tools to minimize interruptions and improve focus.
• Ways to juggle competing deadlines without burning out.
• How to track your day to uncover hidden time wasters.
• Techniques to tackle difficult tasks and complex projects.
• How to set up a workspace and schedule that support deep work.
• How to run meetings that give time back to your day.
• Strategies to manage email overload and reduce digital distractions.
• How to align daily tasks with team goals and high-value work.

It is likely that this will be an official reversal of the Biden administration’s independent contractor rule, which made it more likely that a worker would be classified as an employee rather than an independent contractor.

Two new opinion letters address FMLA leave during company closure and travel to and from medical appointments.

If an employer chooses to pay an employee at the overtime RATE for a holiday worked, how does this factor into the regular rate-of-pay calculations?