Right to Work in Michigan is no longer the law: On Friday last week Governor Whitmer signed the bill repealing Right to Work. Michigan became the first state to repeal Right to Work in the country in the past sixty years.  This was no surprise. The Governor said she would sign the bill once passed even though it contains features that prevent a popular vote referendum.

Highest share of work at home has stabilized: Nearly 30% of all work happened at home in January, six times the rate in 2019, according to WFH Research, a data-collection project. In Washington and other large urban centers, the share of remote work is closer to half. In the nation’s biggest cities, entire office buildings sit empty.

ChatGPT is an edge to applicants applying for jobs: A recent report from resume template service ResumeBuilder found that 46% of applicants are actively using ChatGPT to write their resumes and cover letters. And the results were overwhelmingly positive — 78% secured an interview when using application materials written by the AI and 59% were eventually hired. 

Employers supporting treatments for weight loss: More employers are becoming aware of the dangers of obesity among their employees and are opting to assist them with weight loss and weight management efforts. That is one significant finding of the 2022 “Employee Benefits Survey” recently released by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. 

How do you know your applicant isn’t AI? New artificial intelligence tools are making it easy to generate professional and personalized application materials, and recruiters encourage job seekers to use them.

Federal Contractors, OFCCP’s Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letter (CSAL) is out:  On January 20, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs published the latest Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) for supply & service contractors, which is comprised of 500 federal contractors and subcontractors. 

Telehealth flexibility extended two more years: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 has extended telehealth flexibility for two years. These provisions are now set to expire December 31, 2024, for calendar-year plans.

A survey conducted by Human Resource Executive (HRE) in late 2022 revealed that the top five things keeping HR up at night includes hiring and retention, stress, culture, technology, and learning and development.

IRS mileage rate is 65.5 cents per mile in 2023:  The rate for business use of a car, van, pickup, or panel truck is now 65.5 cents per mile. This represents an increase of 3 cents from the agency’s midyear increase back in June for the second half of 2022, when the IRS set the per mile rate at 62.5 cents.

Men want much higher salaries than women when switching jobs: The amount of money workers are demanding to switch jobs has been rising rapidly, recently hitting an eight-year record amid high inflation and the prospect of a recession. 

Michigan minimum wage could be $13.03 starting February 19^th:  In a press release issued December 5, 2022, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity confirmed that the state’s minimum wage will increase to $10.10 on January 1, 2023, and may increase again to $13.03 on February 19, 2023, pending ongoing litigation.

Are you overwhelmed by email? Join the club.  67% of people feel overwhelmed by their inbox, and 82% say they miss important emails because their inboxes are bogged down, a survey released by email service provider Gated, found. 

Going Pro Talent Fund Application Period Closes Next Week: If your company is applying for 2023 Michigan Going Pro Talent Funds the application deadline is next week – December 12, 2022. Employers are advised to work with their local Michigan Works office to get some of the $55 million of funds to put toward training current and newly hired employees. ASE’s Principles and Practices of Supervision classes qualify.

Who’d expect religious discrimination raising its head: Kanye West (who now goes by Ye) and his latest headline-making commentary may be the most public example of the insidious nature of antisemitism — which could be more widespread in recruiting than assumed, data released Nov. 22 by ResumeBuilder shows.

Congress passes bill voiding NDAs in cases of sexual assault, harassment:  The Speak Out Act would allow those who have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment in the workplace — and who have signed Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) — to talk about their experiences. The Speak Out Act would render unenforceable workplace pre-dispute non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses involving sexual assault and sexual harassment.  Source:  HR Dive 11/16/22

Minimum wage increases for 2023:  Minimum wage increases already scheduled for 2023 are found for the following 12 states:

This past Sunday, we ushered daylight saving time (DST) out, and welcomed back standard time by falling back one hour.  While gaining an hour is a little easier than losing an hour, is any of it necessary anymore?

Allowing or encouraging social media posts leads to cyber risks at work: Tweeting, Instagramming, and even TikToking through the workday has become a common (and even encouraged) practice. But are those seemingly harmless social media habits creating potentially harmful cybersecurity risks?  On average, organizations experience 13 data exposures and risks per employee per day, according to Code42, a risk management platform.

Daylight Savings Time ends November 6: When clocks are turned back an hour in the early morning on November 6th, workers on the midnight shift at that time will actually work an extra hour.

Continue using the current I-9 until further notice: Employers should continue using the Form I 9, Employment Eligibility Verification, after its expiration date of Oct. 31, 2022, until further notice. DHS will publish a Federal Register notice to announce the new version of the Form I 9 once it becomes available.  Source:  USCIS 10/12/22

Despite a long-standing hypothesis that personality traits remain relatively stable over most of a person’s adult life, the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered personalities, especially in younger adults, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal, PLOS ONE.

Michigan court allows City of Jackson, Michigan to tax remote worker who works for company located in city: The Michigan Court of Appeals held that it was not illegal for the City of Jackson to require a company located there to withhold city income taxes from the pay of an employee working remotely outside the city.

Another California first, protecting off-duty marijuana use: Beginning on January 1, 2024, California employers will be prohibited from discharging employees or refusing to hire individuals based on their off-duty use of marijuana.

If you have a policy how to communicate absences, don’t let managers deviate:  In a recent ruling, Roberts v. Gestamp (Decided August 15, 2022), the Fourth Circuit reversed, in part, the lower court’s decision to grant the Company’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the employee did not follow the Company’s “usual and customary” absence notice procedures as required by the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). 

OFCCP extends deadline for EEO-1 Type 2 report objections to October 19: OFCCP announced an intention to produce federal contractors’ Type 2 EEO-1 data in response to a FOIA request from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR).