Do you have a “bad apple” employee? To distinguish if someone is a “bad apple,” you have to observe their behaviors and how that impacts the team. You’ll probably have a hunch if there’s a bad apple in your batch. A “bad apple” is someone who is constantly negative, unwilling to collaborate and always has a poor attitude. Before identifying someone as a “bad apple,” it’s very important to look for patterns like having trouble taking accountability, gossiping, or spreading rumors that create a toxic environment. There is a possibility your employee may have some personal things going on, so it’s always better to treat people with grace. The “bad apple” employee is the one whose actions demoralize colleagues, hinder productivity, or violate workplace norms despite feedback and opportunities for improvement; they may be contributing to a negative atmosphere. There is no improvement, and their behavior is consistent. Consistency is the key here. The best way to approach someone with “bad apple behavior” is to address the issue professionally and constructively, using clear and non-confrontational language. If improvements aren’t made, involve management or HR to explore further steps, which may include coaching, reassignment, or termination. Source: Rolling Stone 9/23/25
Caregiving benefits rising in need: According to the 2026 U.S. Leave Management Report from Aon company NFP, only 30% of employers offer family caregiver leave and, mostly, that’s employers offering less than three weeks of pay. This has increasingly led workers to use their PTO for caregiving demands, researchers from NFP said. An executive at a leave management company shared her view at SHRM 2025 that caregiving benefits should now take center stage – especially as the “sandwich generation” will be expanding. Despite workers listing caregiving leave as a top benefit in Prudential Financial’s 2025 report, about half of employers don’t offer it; based on their findings, researchers from the firm said that employers who don’t offer paid caregiving leave risk losing out on top talent. A lack of caregiver support could also lead to the mass attrition of women from the workforce. Per a joint report from Motherly and the University of Phoenix Career Institute, half of mothers in the sandwich generation have left a job specifically due to caregiving demands. Moreover, 55% of “sandwich moms” live in a single-income household, according to the Motherly and University of Phoenix report. About half of their paycheck goes to caregiving responsibilities, which is “more than double that of non-sandwich moms,” per the report. Source: HR Dive 10/15/25
AI use in employment decisions: According to MarketWatch, six in ten managers already use artificial intelligence to make decisions about their employees. AI-driven job cuts do not always come with the usual warning signs, such as budget freezes or nervous managers. Algorithms can analyze productivity data, email patterns, or project completions in the background without you knowing you are under review. MarketWatch highlights several red flags that suggest your employer may be leaning on algorithms for employment decisions: new performance tracking tools that monitor keystrokes, emails, or app usage; requirements that all communication go through platforms that are easy to analyze, termination meetings handled by unfamiliar HR reps or outside consultants; automated scheduling or AI-powered performance reviews; and heavy emphasis on “data-driven culture” or “objective metrics.” Seeing several of these changes at once is a strong signal that your company may be leaning on AI for employment decisions. Source: MSN 9/17/25
State of Michigan may become unable to pay its future bills: The nonprofit Truth in Accounting, which advocates for more transparency in public finance, released its Financial State of the States report. It concluded that 25 states were unable to cover all their financial obligations at the end of fiscal year 2024, which for most states ended June 30. While every state but Vermont mandates a balanced budget, the report says elected officials often exclude certain costs such as future pension obligations and deferred maintenance from their budget calculations. In total, Truth in Accounting calculated that states hold $2.2 trillion in assets and $2.9 trillion in debts. At $832 billion, unfunded pension obligations are the largest driver of state debts, according to the report. According to the report, Michigan had $44.2 billion available to pay $58.3 billion worth of bills, a $14.1 billion shortfall, which breaks down to a burden of $4,100 per taxpayer. Additionally, Michigan may lose $7.7 billion in federal funding (8% of expenses) if allocations return to 2019 levels, adjusted only for inflation. Source: Michigan Advance 9/25/25
The state of leave and accommodations requests in 2025: Employee requests for accommodations and leaves of absence are on the rise as reported in the Littler’s 2025 Annual Employer Survey Report. Nearly half of respondents whose organizations have positions that can be performed remotely said they have increased in-person work requirements over the past 12 months or were considering doing so. Most are focused on increasing the number of required in-person workdays within their hybrid schedules, with 29% having already done so, and 12% considering such a change. 5% of employers and require return to in-person work five days a week. Large organizations (those with more than 10,000 employees) appear to be even more concentrated on in-person work, with 47% saying they are increasing or planning to increase the number of such days within their hybrid schedules (compared with 41% overall). Among survey respondents whose organizations have increased their in-person work requirements, more than half (56%) and 65% of large employers have seen increased requests for remote work accommodations. Managing such requests requires companies to understand their legal obligations and insights from recent court cases in order to evaluate accommodation requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and/or similar state or local laws. Source: Littler
7th Circuit reinstates religious objection lawsuit by teacher over transgender names: A split Seventh Circuit panel reinstated a religious bias suit from a Christian teacher who alleged that a school district unlawfully required him to refer to transgender students by their preferred names, with a dissent warning that the ruling created a "perilous precedent" for employers. The split opinion overturned a summary judgment win for Brownsburg Community School Corp. in orchestra teacher John Kluge's Title VII religious discrimination suit. While some transgender students said the way Kluge referred to them upset them, the majority said this didn't create the kind of definitive safety issue that would pose an undue hardship for the school district and warrant dismissal of the case. Kluge said in his 2019 suit that he refused to call transgender students by names that conflicted with their biological sex because he believed that being transgender was a sin. The high school where he worked as an orchestra teacher allowed him to call students by their last names, but after students and teachers complained that the practice alienated transgender students from their peers, the accommodation was rescinded. This prompted Kluge to resign in 2018. "The record does not conclusively show that any student's safety was in jeopardy," the majority said. "There were no allegations of threatened physical harm or verbal abuse. The only evidence from students centers on their discomfort." Source: Law360 8/6/25