Update on minimum wage changes for 2026: See chart for the new 2026 changes. This is also located in the ASE Member Community under My ASE Toolkits and Guides.

DHS drops automatic extension of visas: The Department of Homeland Security will end the automatic extension of certain immigrant work permits pending renewal, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Under an interim final rule effective October 30th, DHS will take away a safety net that granted immigrants a 540-day automatic renewal while their employment authorization documents were pending.  The new rule will allow DHS to perform “proper screening and vetting of aliens before extending the validity of their employment authorizations,” DHS said. Under the Biden administration, USCIS in May 2022 increased the automatic extension period for certain work permits to 540 days, up from 180 days, citing high caseloads.  The longer extension period was meant to “help avoid gaps in employment for aliens with pending EAD renewal applications and stabilize the continuity of operations for U.S. employers,” USCIS said at the time.  The new rule does not apply to permits that were automatically extended before October 30, the current USCIS said. The agency recommends immigrants file renewal applications up to 180 days before their documents expire. This “surprise announcement” leaves employers scrambling, according to Shanon Stevenson, a partner at labor and employment firm Fisher Phillips.  Source: HR Dive 10/29/25

EEOC lawsuits at a low level: Lawsuits filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dropped by 15% in the fiscal year that ended September 30, with the agency likely to continue to focus less on systemic cases on behalf of a big group of workers in an industry, profession or company. That's a preliminary take from Duane Morris based on the law firm's tracking of EEOC litigation for the 2025 fiscal year, which included the first nine months of the second Trump administration. The EEOC filed 94 lawsuits in fiscal 2025 compared with 111 in 2024 and 143 in fiscal 2023, the law firm said.  That's still significantly lower than the pre-pandemic high of 217 in fiscal 2018, during the first term of President Donald Trump.  "The decline in enforcement activity suggests that during President Trump's second term in office, employers should not expect the EEOC to be as aggressive as past regimes in terms of the volume of government enforcement lawsuits, particularly in terms of systemic litigation," Duane Morris partner Gerald Maatman Jr. said last month in his preliminary analysis of EEOC data.  At that time, Maatman said the 2025 EEOC data "should be taken with a grain of salt," given the fiscal year was a time of transition in administrations.  Source: law.com 10/29/25

Does a PIP meet the Muldrow requirement of some harm? Many employers use Performance Improvement Plans, or “PIPs,” as a way to provide clear guidance and direction to employees. But can a PIP be the basis for an employment discrimination claim?  In 2024, the Supreme Court decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis concluded that there is no requirement of materiality or substantial harm to advance a discrimination claim under Title VII – rather, only “some harm” needs to be shown. Since then, courts have had to determine when a change in the conditions of employment rise to the level of “some harm.”  In a recent case, an employer reorganized its operations, giving an employee new job responsibilities. Later, the employee was given a negative performance review and then placed on a PIP. They resigned and claimed that their placement on the PIP itself was abusive treatment and constituted age discrimination.  The court reviewed these claims and concluded that the actions by the employer were “all within the normal course of employment” and therefore the employee did not suffer “some harm.” The claims of age discrimination were denied. However, if a woman is placed on a PIP and a similarly situated man is not, that may fall under Muldrow.  Source: Littler 9/24/25

HR should focus on mental health resources and benefits: According to Monster’s 2025 Mental Health in the Workplace survey of more than 1,100 U.S. workers, employees are increasingly reporting toxic environments, poor well-being, and little faith that their employers are taking action to help. 80% of workers now say they work in a toxic environment, up from 67% in 2024. Even more troubling, 93% say their employer isn’t doing enough to support their mental health, a sharp increase from 78% last year. Workers are also reaching a breaking point: more than half (57%) say they would rather quit than stay in a toxic workplace. 71% of workers describe their mental health at work as poor (40%) or fair (31%). Only 29% call it good (20%) or great (9%), of which 59% say that the workplace is toxic or has a bad manager (54%).  47% equally state that the lack of promotional opportunities and increased workload impacts their mental health.  This issue impacts succession planning.  63% would prioritize their mental well-being over having a “brag-worthy” job, 43% would pass on a promotion, and 33% would even forgo a raise to protect their health. Among those with poor or fair mental health, 51% say their well-being would improve if employers removed toxic employees.  Source: Monster.com

The forgotten Gen Xers who’ve been laid off in the last 10 years are still looking for work: Getting laid off later in life can undermine retirement security, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Boston College’s 2012 to 2022 Retirement Study.  Of Americans aged 50 to 65 — many of whom would be Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980 — 14% were laid off once in the previous 10 years, according to the study. And nearly a quarter of those (24%) weren’t able to find a new job. Older workers who do manage to find a new job may have to accept a low-ball offer to stay employed — especially during a period of economic instability and jobs cuts related to AI and automation.  Kevin Cahill, an economist at FTI Consulting, told WSJ that based on a forthcoming study he co-wrote, older workers who find new jobs take, on average, an 11% wage cut. Boomers aren’t the only ones facing ageism. An AARP study found that 64% of workers over age 50 had witnessed or experienced age discrimination in the workplace. For example, 33% of respondents said there’s an assumption in their workplace that older workers aren’t as tech savvy as their younger counterparts, whether that’s accurate or not.  Source: Moneywise 10/2/25