SHRM: Big Data Only As Good As Data In

On Aug. 30, AB-1883 received final legislative approval and now heads to California Governor Gavin Newsom for signature or veto. If enacted, AB-1883 would prohibit employers from using workplace surveillance tools that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize, infer, or predict an employee’s emotional state, or to collect “neural data.”

In the intricate landscape of employment law, wrongful termination poses a significant challenge for employees who find themselves at the unfortunate intersection of job loss and potential injustice.

Massachusetts has taken a significant step toward pay equity and workplace fairness with the passage of its Wage Transparency Act (the "Act" or formally, An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency).

Private-sector employers with "no-fault" attendance policies in New York will need to revisit their policies following an impending change to New York Labor Law.

On August 26, 2026, NLRB General Counsel Crystal S. Carey issued Memorandum GC 26-04, “Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities.” The memo is her second in as many months and reads like a punch list for reversing the Board’s Biden-era precedent. For employers, the headline is simple: nothing has changed yet, but a lot may be about to.

The US Department of Labor has issued new guidance establishing a streamlined framework for enforcing mental health parity requirements under MHPAEA, focusing enforcement on three priority areas while maintaining nonenforcement of controversial 2024 rule provisions. This guidance aims to reduce compliance burdens on plan sponsors while ensuring participants maintain access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits comparable to medical and surgical coverage.

Federal overtime exemption rules have shifted back to 2019 standards following court challenges to the Department of Labor's 2024 salary threshold increases. Understanding how these revised requirements affect executive, administrative, professional, and highly compensated employee classifications is critical for maintaining wage-hour compliance.

California's 2026 legislative session concluded with fewer employment bills than in previous years, but several significant measures await Governor Newsom's decision by September 30. Key proposals address automated decision systems in employment, workplace surveillance restrictions, expanded bereavement leave, AI-driven workforce displacement notices, and modifications to last year's controversial "stay-or-pay" legislation.

The first half of 2026 has seen major litigation developments in cases concerning the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits.

Merit-based hiring is a recruitment strategy that focuses on selecting candidates based solely on their skills, experience, qualifications, and performance rather than personal characteristics or biases.

Massachusetts voters will decide nine statewide ballot questions in November 2026 that could fundamentally reshape the state's legal, regulatory, and fiscal landscape. These measures address government transparency, election reforms, housing development, marijuana regulation, firearms laws, and state revenue limits, with implications extending far beyond Election Day to implementation, regulation, and ongoing policy debates.

The California Legislature’s 2025–2026 session ended with workplace-related artificial intelligence or automated technology in its crosshairs. If Governor Newsom signs this suite of bills, California employers may face a number of new obligations relating to AI-driven surveillance tools, automated decision systems, and other emerging workplace technologies.

Sources informed the Wall Street Journal that a definitive MasterCard settlement could be announced as soon as this week.

The Trump administration's most-favored-nation pricing initiative has expanded to include nine additional mid-sized pharmaceutical manufacturers, bringing the total coverage to 89% of the brand drug market. These new agreements focus on Medicaid pricing discounts aligned with international rates, while manufacturers commit billions to U.S. manufacturing and research in exchange for exemptions from future pricing mandates and potential tariffs.

The Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital has launched a groundbreaking $500 million to $1 billion fund finance program targeting critical minerals vital to U.S. national security. How will this federal-private capital partnership reshape financing for companies addressing supply chain vulnerabilities in strategic materials?

Antora Energy, a leading US thermal battery manufacturer, has secured $550 million in Series C financing to scale deployment of its innovative energy storage technology that converts low-cost electricity into heat stored in solid carbon blocks. The oversubscribed funding round will support expanded manufacturing capacity, establishment of a second US production hub, and large-scale project deployment to meet surging energy demand from industrial facilities, data centers, and the grid.

On September 18, 2026, President Trump issued a proclamation that extends through September 21, 2027 a $100,000 fee for H-1B petitions that are filed as consular petitions or are only approvable for consular notification.

New York lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 2236-A, known as the “Wage Payment Integrity Act” (the “Act”), which would significantly expand what qualifies as protected “wages” under the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) and would give employees enhanced tools to recover unpaid compensation.

The US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Dominance Financing has unveiled its Strategic Plan for 2026-2030, marking a significant shift in federal energy financing priorities. With over $300 billion in combined loan authority across four programs, EDF aims to deploy hundreds of billions in new financing commitments while maintaining rigorous underwriting standards.

Following a bench trial, on January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O'Connor of the US District Court of the Northern District of Texas held that the managers of a company's 401(k) retirement plans...