Unexpected medical expenses scare employees: Four in five Americans worry that an unexpected medical expense could derail their financial goals, while more than a quarter of this group say that a bill of less than $1,000 would cause financial hardship. Younger generations are especially anxious, with nearly 90% of Gen Z and millennials saying an unplanned medical cost would disrupt their financial plans, compared to just 56% of baby boomers. A recent survey by the financial services company Equitable highlights key financial trends shaping how Americans engage with their workplace benefits. When respondents were asked how they would pay for a costly and unplanned medical bill, 48% said they would set up a payment plan, 31% would use general savings, 28% would rely on credit cards, and 12% would make a hardship withdrawal from their retirement account. Younger generations are embracing less-traditional digital tools. More than two-thirds of Gen Z use platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube for benefits information. Millennials lead all age groups in their use of AI, with 30% using these tools for benefits guidance. Voluntary benefits remain misunderstood by many workers. Although more than 40% of employees lack confidence in their understanding of these benefits, once informed, more than 80% said they consider them highly valuable.  Source: HR Executive 10/15/25

Employees not taking PTO: New survey data from remote job listing site Flexjobs finds that nearly a quarter of employees, or 23% of the 3,063 people it questioned, didn’t take a single day off during the last year. The reasons? Even though 82% of those respondents said their employer provided paid time off, many failed to take some or all of those days “due to heavy workloads, manager expectations, and unsupportive company cultures,” the report said. Concretely, 43% of respondents said they had too much work to take PTO days, with 30% saying stepping away from the office risked them falling behind tasks they’d managed to keep pace with. Nearly 30% of survey participants said they’d feel too guilty or worry about looking like a slacker by going on vacation. More problematic was the 19% of respondents who said they didn’t dare take PTO in a workplace that “clearly doesn’t support taking time off.”  Source: Inc. 8/28/25

No work – let’s go back to school: Good news for law schools and MBA programs: applications are on the rise. Amid a challenging job market, students are turning to what they see as a safer bet—skilling up in hopes of becoming more attractive to prospective employers.  Gen Z graduates have faced a difficult path to landing full-time roles out of college. The entry-level job market has been challenging, with limited opportunities and the threat that AI tools will automate their roles. Instead of facing the bleak job market head-on, law school and MBA programs buy more time to figure out what’s next while safeguarding themselves against the technology.  The numbers show just how anxious recent grads are. The current pool of applicants to American Bar Association-accredited law schools is 33% larger than it was this time last year, according to data from the Law School Admission Council.   In addition, applications to graduate management education (GME) programs (MBAs and other business master’s degrees) continued to rise in 2025, building on last year’s 12% growth with another 7% increase, according to a survey by GMAC. The shift comes as unemployment among recent college graduates was over 5% in August, outpacing the national unemployment rate of 4%.  Source: Fortune 10/28/25

Although unions are at a low point, it doesn’t mean employees don’t want them: Outside of compensation, the main reasons employees unionize include a desire for better work/life balance, more input into business decisions, and more job security, said employers who had experienced unionization over the past two years and who had been polled for Littler’s 2025 Labor Survey Report.  Meanwhile, the majority of employers without unionized employees said they believed 30% or less of their employees would agree to join a union today — highlighting a potential disconnect. “Data from other surveys suggest these respondents may be underestimating the willingness of their employees to at least consider joining a union,” Littler said in its report. Overall, the Littler report suggested that employee engagement programs would “reduce the likelihood of unionization by creating workplaces where employees feel valued and heard.”   The report goes further to say that the lack of employee listening initiatives are “a missed opportunity, as these forums — which are designed to enable employees to share their opinions, ideas, and concerns — are a critical factor in union curiosity becoming union activity or an NLRB petition.”   Source: HR Dive 10/2/25

Meeting employee benefit needs results in more productive employees: Employees who feel fully supported through comprehensive benefits report being significantly more effective at work, with 83% saying they are always or almost always productive at work, according to a recent survey by HR technology and services provider Alight. Only 70% of less-supported employees say the same, meaning that organizations have to meet employees' benefit needs if they want employees to meet their expectations. 67% of employees with a comprehensive benefits plan to stay with their current employer, according to the survey's findings, 64% report an exceptional employee experience, 76% say they tell others great things about their organization when given the opportunity, and 38% are even extremely likely to recommend their employer to others. Employees' engagement levels rise even higher when they feel as though those benefits are helping them improve their well-being.  Thanks to better benefits, 62% of employees have even effectively managed their stress levels, Alight's survey showed. As a result, 49% rarely experience feelings of loneliness at work, and 45% reported no symptoms of burnout at all. Source: EBN 9/23/25

OFCCP revises jurisdictional thresholds for veteran and disabled AAPs:  On October 1, 2025, the jurisdictional thresholds for Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 793, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, 38 U.S.C. 4212, increased. The basic coverage threshold for Section 503 increased from $15,000 to $20,000 and the VEVRAA threshold increased from $150,000 to $200,000. These increases resulted from an inflationary adjustment statute that authorizes the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to review and adjust “acquisition-related” threshold amounts in statutes that apply to federal procurement.  Accordingly, the Affirmative Action Program requirements for VEVRAA now apply to covered contractors and subcontractors that have at least 50 employees and a single contract of $200,000 or more. For Section 503, the AAP requirements continue to apply to covered contractors and subcontractors that have at least 50 employees and a single contract of $50,000 or more.  Source: OFCCP 11/25/25