Is AI taking your job? About 4 in 10 business leaders have laid off employees as a result of deploying AI. And of those, 55% admit they made the wrong decisions about it, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 business leaders by organizational design and planning software platform Orgvue.  Leaders also admitted to a lack of awareness on how to implement AI. One quarter said they didn’t know which roles would benefit most from AI, nearly a third didn’t know which are most at risk for automation, and 35% said lack of AI expertise was a barrier to successful deployment.  Despite these gaps, leaders remain bullish on AI, the survey showed; 3 in 4 leaders said their company would be “taking full advantage” of AI by the end of the year, and 4 in 5 said they’d increase their investments this year.  Source: HR Dive 4/29/25

Time to audit your health plans and retirement plan fees: On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion that has the potential to make it more difficult for defendants to have excess fee cases for 401(k) or 403(b) plans dismissed at an early stage of litigation before costly and burdensome discovery processes begin.  In Cunningham v. Cornell University, the Court found that plaintiffs do not have to plausibly allege that service provider fees paid by the plan are unreasonable; it is enough to allege that fiduciaries caused the plan to enter into a transaction for the payment of services, including one which is permitted under ERISA and necessary for the operation of the plan. While plaintiffs would still ultimately have to prove that service provider fees were unreasonable to prevail on excess fee claims, the Cunningham holding may make it more difficult for defendants to be granted a motion to dismiss if plausible allegations of unreasonable fees are not required at the pleadings stage. Source: Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP 4/21/25

Micro-investing, a new financial wellness benefit for employees: For many working parents, putting money aside each month isn't easy, making generational wealth feel out of the question. But even as the cost of living climbs, the right benefits can help employees get started with a long term savings and investment plan.   A survey by U.S. Bank found that four in 10 parents among all generations believe their children will need financial assistance into adulthood. With some experts predicting the average home price to be over $1 million by 2040, along with rising costs of college, unpredictable economic shifts, and health issues, saving for the future now is more important than ever. Yet saving for these milestones is more achievable than most people think: By investing $10 per week with 8% returns for the first 18 years of a child's life, growth could reach $1 million by the time the child reaches retirement, according to micro-investment platform FutureMoney. "A very modest deposit today could be life changing for kids later on," says Philip Barrar, co-founder and CEO of FutureMoney.  Source: EBN 5/1/25

Apprenticeships focus of the current administration: On April 23, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at overhauling federal workforce development efforts. The order directs the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Commerce to review and modernize federal workforce programs, focusing on administrative reforms to improve participant experiences and aligning programs with the needs of emerging industries. The agencies are directed to develop a comprehensive workforce strategy to achieve these goals within 90 days.  The executive order also includes a goal of supporting over 1 million government apprenticeships annually by expanding apprenticeships to new industries, improving efficiency and enhancing connections between registered apprenticeships and the education system. The agencies are directed to submit a plan to do so within 120 days.  According to the fact sheet, in 2024, there was a shortage of 447,00 construction workers and 94,000 durable goods workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the annual shortage of skilled tradesman over the next decade will be close to half a million and grow as the years go by.  Source: ABC Newsline 4/30/25

Do your due diligence for every hire; it can be costly: Kohl’s fired chief executive Ashley Buchanan after it discovered he had instructed the retailer to enter into a “highly unusual” business deal involving a woman with whom he has had a romantic relationship, according to people familiar with the situation.  Buchanan met the woman, Chandra Holt, when they were both working at Walmart several years ago, the people said. Buchanan went on to run crafts chain Michaels and took over as Kohl’s CEO in November. Holt went on to become the CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond. She is now a consultant and the founder of Incredibrew, a coffee brand infused with vitamins and minerals. Buchanan declined to comment. “I’ve known Ashley Buchanan for 10 years, but I have not received any compensation for my Incredibrew business from Kohl’s,” Holt told The Wall Street Journal.  A Kohl’s board investigation found that Buchanan violated the company’s code of conduct in two instances with a vendor with whom he had a personal relationship and whom it didn’t name, according to a regulatory filing.  The filing said he directed the retailer to conduct business with this vendor and he caused the company to enter into a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement, where that person was part of the consulting team.  Source: The Wall Street Journal 5/1/25