Checklist: Defensible Discipline When the Employee Was Also Protected
Build a discipline record that shows the misconduct alone justified the action and the same action would have followed without protected activity.
Hiring & Firing
Offers, classification, and ending it properly.
October 2026
September 2026
WARN RIF Checklist: Health First's 214-Job Layoff
Use this five-step WARN RIF checklist to count layoffs, identify the site, set recipients and start date, check contents, and file with the state agency.
Before a Hostile-Work-Environment Termination, Document Why the Conduct Was Unprotected
Before a hostile-work-environment termination, separate protected shared criticism from unprotected misconduct and prove the stated reason existed and was actually relied on.
When the Strike Ends: The Recall Checklist That Makes Reinstating Strikers Defensible
Document the offer, response, money, and corrected seniority dates to make a post-strike recall defensible.
Fix Trainer-Preference Forms Before They Become Pattern-or-Practice Evidence
Audit trainer-preference forms for sex-specific pay, waiting, and consent rules. Replace them with neutral, job-related scheduling and equal pay.
Match RIF Notice and Termination Dates
Set the RIF notice date from the earliest actual separation date, then verify the required gap and document any uncertainty.
Virginia Pay Transparency: Post Ranges, Ban Pay-History Questions, Add Non-Retaliation
A practical compliance edit: publish a defensible pay range, remove pay-history questions, and add non-retaliation language.
The $684 Overtime Threshold Is Back: Reclassify Exempt Employees Without Guessing
The restored threshold is the starting line, but the duties test still decides who is exempt.
Maine Pay Range Postings: Count, Post, Keep Records
Treat Maine's pay transparency rule as a records-and-request system: verify the count, build a defensible range, post it, and retain pay history.
Phased Layoff WARN Checklist: Trinity Health's IT Cut
A phased layoff starts its notice count on the first termination date, not the last, so HR should verify coverage, counts, and state filings before announcing dates.
NJ ABC-Test Audit: 1099s and Labels Don't Count
A contractor audit should test each relationship on the facts that matter, not the paperwork that says otherwise.
Defensible RIF paperwork and open-requisition rules
A year-end RIF is defensible when stated reason matches neutral selection criteria, business rationale is documented, and open requisitions are controlled.
Louisiana Background Checks After the Aug. 1 Expungement Change
Louisiana background checks remain lawful, but the rules on expunged records and conviction-based denials need a tighter checklist.
San Francisco Fair Chance Hiring Changes: Four Conviction Categories and 14-Day Acknowledgment
A practical checklist for the new hiring rules: barred categories, the notice sequence, and penalty exposure.
Edit Your Arbitration Clause So Confidentiality Survives and Employees Can Still Say It Happened
A defensible arbitration policy can keep the substance of a case confidential while still letting employees say a case exists and file charges.
Texas TRAIGA Checklist for AI Hiring and Firing
A practical pre-deployment checklist for employers using AI to screen, score, or terminate, focused on proof, records, and defensible process.
When a Bank-Fraud Probe Touches an Employee: HR's Termination Checklist
HR should not become a second investigator: limit questions, keep the probe quiet, and terminate only on documented, employment-relevant grounds.
What the Proposed Contractor Rule Actually Changes
A federal rewrite of the contractor test is only proposed so far. Here's what already changed in enforcement, and why your state's test still governs regardless.
New York Audited Its Own AI-Hiring Law Enforcement. It Failed.
A city comptroller reviewed how New York enforces its AI-hiring bias-audit law and found a system barely functioning. What that means for employers using these tools.
What Changed in Pay Transparency for Job Postings
Delaware and Maine just added new posting rules, and New Jersey and California tightened existing ones. What the law requires now, and what still counts as a best guess.
The FTC's Noncompete Ban Is Gone. Here's What Replaced It.
The FTC dropped its nationwide noncompete ban and moved to case-by-case enforcement. Here's what the state patchwork now requires, and what's merely the safer choice.
August 2026
The Federal Noncompete Ban Is Dead. That Changes Less Than It Sounds
The FTC's noncompete rule never actually took effect. What its collapse does and does not change for an agreement already sitting in an offer letter.
Final Paychecks Run on State Clocks, Not One Federal One
Payroll often assumes the normal cycle covers a departing employee. In some states that assumption is already a violation before the manager finishes the sentence.
The 60-Day Clock Behind Every Mass Layoff
WARN notice is not a courtesy sent alongside the layoff announcement. What actually triggers the 60-day requirement, who counts as covered, and what a missed notice costs.
The Exceptions Hiding Inside 'At-Will' Employment
At-will sounds like permission to fire for any reason. Courts have spent decades carving out exceptions, and the most common ones come from unwritten promises, not written contracts.
Before a Background Check Costs Someone a Job
A background check is not a simple pass-fail gate. What federal rules actually require before a finding turns into a rejection, and where employers most often skip a step.
The Independent Contractor Test Is Changing Again
Employers just finished adapting to one federal classification test. A new proposal points back toward the old one. What is actually settled right now, and what is not.
The I-9 Deadline Is a Hiring Deadline, Not a Filing Task
Form I-9 reads like paperwork, but the clock behind it is unforgiving. What the three-day rule actually requires, and why the file cabinet matters years later.
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