Pharmaceutical costs going to continue driving up health care costs:  In April at the National Republican Congressional Committee, President Donald Trump shared that his administration will announce tariffs on pharmaceuticals "very shortly."

EEO-1 reporting is scheduled to open May 20th: The portal is scheduled to open on May 20, 2025, and companies will have until June 24, 2025, to submit their reports. On April 15, 2025, in response to Executive Order 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, the EEOC filed an Information Collection Request (ICR) with OMB requesting what it classified as a non-substantive change to remove the option for employers to...

Employees want compensation for long commutes in RTO situation: According to professional recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, U.S. professionals spend 1-5% of their annual salaries on commutes alone. Unsurprisingly, 60% of employees believe commutes are the most important expense employers can subsidize, and 74% name commutes as a major factor when considering a new job.

Are you prepared for I-9 and immigration enforcement? Federal immigration authorities may be gradually boosting their enforcement activities, but the slow pace has not changed employers’ need for caution. 

Employers must post new State of Michigan Veteran poster:  Effective 4/2/25, businesses must display a veteran’s resource poster in an area accessible to all employees, per PA 197 of 2004 — enacted by the Michigan Legislature on the final day of its session. 

Employees are wary of 360 reviews: More than three in four employees have expressed their desire to opt out of 360-degree feedback evaluation systems amid concerns that it could be misused in the workplace, according to a new survey. LiveCareer's poll among 1,000 employees in the United States found that 71% of organizations are using 360-degree reviews regularly.

Gen Z in the workplace: Gen Z workers want their jobs to be more than just a job. According to Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 86% of Gen Z workers said having a sense of purpose is important to their overall job satisfaction and well-being. Additionally, 75% of Gen Z and millennial workers said an organization’s community engagement and societal impact is an important factor when considering a potential employer.  Environmental sustainability is also a top...

Federal contractor minimum wage executive order revoked: President Trump rescinded the executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $15 an hour, leaving an uncertain future for the U.S. Department of Labor rule implementing the order and ongoing court challenges to the rule.

Daylight Savings starts March 9th: Set your clocks forward one hour Sunday morning, March 10^th. Daylight Saving Time was first proposed by George Vernon Hudson in 1895, and its use in the U.S. was first mandated during World War I. It was subsequently used on and off for years by various countries and U.S. states./p>

IRS mileage rate increases to $.70 per mile:  The Internal Revenue Service announced that the optional standard mileage rate for automobiles driven for business will increase by 3 cents in 2025, while the mileage rates for vehicles used for other purposes will remain unchanged from 2024.

EAD renewal extension has been increased to 540 days: A final rule by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) permanently increases the automatic extension period for expiring employment authorization and/or employment authorization documents (Forms I-766 or EADs) for certain renewal applicants. The finalization of this rule makes permanent a recent temporary rule and helps prevent eligible renewal EAD applicants from experiencing a...

AI to make organizations more diamond-shaped: As generative AI begins taking hold in business, who does what work and how organizations will be structured will inevitably change, particularly at the leadership and management levels, according to a new survey from Capgemini in which 1,500 managers from 500 organizations and 15 countries participated. 

Engineers are scarce:  Nearly a million engineering roles were advertised across the country in August, according to RS, a product and service provider for industrial customers, placing engineering among the top ten most in-demand professions. But the profession has a dearth of new, incoming talent.

Gen Zers want more training opportunities: According to new research from Udemy, a workforce training platform, based on responses from more than 6,500 multigenerational workers, 65% of Gen Z are highly motivated by professional development, besting millennials and Gen X. The rise of generative AI has caused Gen Z to get serious about upskilling, underscoring their professional drive.

How much time do you waste in a week? Organizations are losing an average of $15,138.03 per employee annually due to unnecessary tasks, according to a new report from Wrike.