SHRM does it again: A Virginia federal jury awarded a job applicant $400,000 in her disability bias case claiming the Society for Human Resource Management yanked a job offer after she requested to bring her service dog to work to help manage her Type 1 diabetes. Torres said in her December 2025 suit that she had accepted a job offer from SHRM in June 2024 for a position in its product management department. When she agreed to take the job, Torres said she informed the organization that she would need her service dog to accompany her to work. The service dog was trained to alert Torres if her blood glucose suddenly reached dangerous levels, which allowed her to work safely and avoid passing out, according to the suit. She said she has been paired with the dog since 2017 and that she also provided the employer with paperwork from her doctor confirming that the service dog provided life-saving assistance. SHRM responded by withdrawing the job offer instead of working with Torres to find an accommodation that would allow her to perform the essential functions of her job, as required by the ADA. Source: Law360 10/13/26

Government wants to propose $100,000 OPT fee: On October 8, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, which would impose significant fees for Optional Practical Training (OPT): $70,000 for an initial OPT period and $30,000 for any subsequent STEM OPT period. OPT permits eligible international students holding F-1 visas to work in the United States for up to 12 months in a position directly related to their field of study following completion of their academic program. F-1 visa holders who complete degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields are eligible for an additional 24-month extension (“STEM OPT”) after the initial 12-month OPT period.  Under the proposed rule, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified schools would be required to pay $70,000 for a student's first OPT recommendation of any type and $30,000 for each subsequent recommendation, including STEM OPT extensions. DHS indicates that the rule aims primarily to address fraud and abuse within the OPT program and that the fees would support enhanced oversight, investigations, and enforcement activities. Until it is a final rule, the current OPT program is not impacted. Source: Littler 10/15/26

How employers are handling higher health care costs: Most employers (88%) are comfortable disrupting their current benefit strategy to improve the quality of care and/or lower costs. Another three-quarters also said they would pursue changes as long as employee choice is not significantly reduced. As such, 92% of employers said they will implement at least one value-based strategy next year, with centers of excellence being the dominant approach right now. Eighty-two percent of employers said they already have a COE in place, while another 12% said they are adding one in 2027 or considering one over the next three years. A third of employers will also have a value-based clinical solution in place by 2027, the survey found. Another 31% said they will have a high-performance network by next year. In the longer term, about 36% of employers said they are considering an outcome-based pricing strategy for 2028 or 2029. A third of respondents also said they are looking at advanced primary care. The survey also found that 39% of businesses are exploring alternative health plans over the next three years, such as individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements in which employees receive funds to find their own coverage.  Moreover, 61% of employers are adding or considering a transparency pharmacy benefit manager program or a new-generation PBM. Source: Tech Target 8/26/26

Open AI settles Green Card discrimination claims: In August 2026, the DOJ announced a three-year settlement with OpenAI alleging that the Company discriminated against U.S. citizens, and other protected categories, during ‘green card’ permanent labor certification (“PERM”) recruitment. DOJ claimed applicants for certain PERM positions had to apply by mail rather than the typical method – applying electronically through the Company’s external job website. OpenAI also did not post the positions on its external careers site and used other practices that DOJ claimed discouraged U.S. citizen applicants, such as late-night radio advertising.  OpenAI agreed to pay $1.2 million in civil penalties and create a $2 million back-pay fund. The Company also agreed to non-monetary relief, including public career-site postings with electronic applications, training, policy revisions, extended DOJ monitoring, and reporting. It is clear that the DOJ examined how recruitment works in practice – whether U.S. citizens can easily locate job advertisements, apply through typical channels, enter the applicant tracking system, and receive a fair chance for consideration. Separate instructions, paper-only submissions, reduced visibility, or recruitment outside normal processes create an increasing risk of discrimination claims from DOJ. Source: Silberman Law 9/3/26

California Law restricts use of AI in employee discipline and termination: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a landmark AI law banning Golden State employers from relying solely on artificial intelligence to fire or discipline workers. SB 947, dubbed the No Robo Bosses Act, prevents businesses around the state from exclusively using “automated decision-making systems” in matters of employee discipline and termination. It also restricts their capacity to use AI as a principal tool in such decisions. Under the bill, employers that rely “primarily” on AI output to make termination or disciplinary decisions must now have a human reviewer corroborate those decisions using additional information, such as managerial evaluations, peer reviews, and personnel files. Additionally, affected employees must be provided with written notice that AI was “primarily used” in their termination or disciplinary decision, a description of the employe data used by the system, and a human point of contact who can further explain the decision. Source: CNBC 9/30/26