This edition of HR News features items on new I-9 fines, difficult conversations, AI hiring risks, employment law news, and more. And take a break after the workplace news with items from the lighter side.
The Leadership Cost Of Avoiding Hard Conversations
Melissa Powell, Chief Executive
Hard conversations are not a sign of poor leadership. They are evidence that a leader is committed to accountability, transparency and growth. Leadership often involves moments that feel uncomfortable. Directly addressing performance concerns, interpersonal conflicts or strategic disputes is the most difficult. However, many leaders put off or avoid these discussions altogether. Avoiding disagreement may seem like a short-term solution, but there are serious long-term repercussions for teams and businesses.
Related: Difficult Conversations at Work: 10 Manager Scripts That Actually Work
Employer’s Guide to Form I-9 Compliance, Errors and Rectifying Mistakes
Priyansha Mistry, HR Digest
Employers and HR professionals have no shortage of forms and paperwork, but when it comes to Form I-9 compliance, even small mistakes or errors can result in violations and hefty fines. With ICE’s recent updates to what qualifies as substantive violation, the chance for Form I-9 errors or mistakes has just gotten larger.
Why do Form I-9 errors even matter? As it turns out, civil fines for paperwork violations can cost employers hundreds to thousands of dollars per form. These issues, if and when uncovered during an U.S. Immigrations Customs and Enforcement Agency (ICE) audit can end up costing reputational damage and increased regulatory scrutiny.
No employer is exempt from Form I-9 challenges. You could be a startup employing 7 employees or a Fortune 500 company with thousands of employees on your payroll, the challenges and damages from Form I-9 mistakes remain the same.
Related: ICE Significantly Modifies I-9 Penalties
New Stanford Study Reveals Bias in AI Hiring Tools, Raises Stakes for Employers
Jason A. Culotta, HR Daily Advisor
A recent study by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) provides new large-scale evidence that artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tools can produce racially disparate outcomes. For employers increasingly relying on automated screening to manage applicant volume, the study raises significant legal risk, particularly under long-standing disparate impact principles.
… Importantly, the study shows that disparities often aren’t visible in aggregate data. Rather, they emerge only when hiring outcomes are analyzed position by position—the same framework courts apply in disparate impact litigation.
Related: Google Insiders Warn Job Candidates About its AI Hiring Filters
What’s Your Leadership Archetype?
David Livermore, Management-Issues
Adapting how we lead is at the heart of cultural intelligence. And over the past four years, my colleagues and I have examined what effective leadership actually looks like across cultures. Drawing on data from every major region of the world, we uncovered six leadership archetypes that capture the dominant ways people lead. Our findings are currently in press, but this is an early look at what we discovered and what it means for leading with cultural intelligence, or CQ.
The six global leadership archetypes emerged from a multi-year study examining how workstyle differences shape collaboration and leadership. We set out to move beyond nationality and personality to explore the full range of forces that influence how we make decisions, communicate, and get work done including gender, ethnicity, profession, cognitive style and organizational culture.
250 Years of Employment Law Part 1 and Part 2
Robin E. Shea, Employment Law Insider
In honor of our nation’s 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed, employment law attorney Robin Shea took an inventory of 76 employment law developments in our nation’s history. It’s an impressive piece of work and a good bookmark for future reference.
Employees Will Pay for Job Security, New Data Shows
Jill Barth, HR Executive
More than half of U.S. workers (54%) say they would accept a lower salary in exchange for greater job security, according to Monster’s 2026 Job Security Report. As many organizations continue to watch layoffs, hiring freezes and restructuring across multiple sectors, this snapshot gives HR leaders perspective on how employees view the balance between compensation and job stability.
HR News Roundup: Quick Takes
- Healthcare Costs Could Rise by Nearly 10% in 2027
- Getting Ready for New York’s Workplace Violence Prevention Law for Hospitals and Nursing Homes
- Know Your Obligations to Employees on Military Leave
- Naloxone in the First-Aid Kit: What Employers Need to Know About Emerging State Mandates
- IRS Increases Standard Mileage Rate for Second Half of 2026 to 76 Cents per Mile
- Grief Does Not Stay at Home: Rethinking Support in the Workplace
- Understanding Why We Procrastinate
- Eight Keys to an Effective Workplace Investigation
- Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Midday Commuting by Non-Exempt Employees
- Your Hourly Employee’s Second Job Is Probably None of Your Business
- As More Americans Turn to Cannabis, Problem Use Is Increasing
- What LinkedIn’s Editor in Chief Says Gets a Post Flagged as AI Slop
- OSHA Renews Warehouse Inspection, Enforcement Program
- Anger Is Healthy if You Can Understand and Deal with It
- F.D.A. Approves Drug Poised to Transform Care for Pancreatic Cancer
HR News: From the Lighter Side …
- One of our favorite “Lighter Side” themes is animals with jobs, so we are happy to bring you a few cute stories this week. The first is about a stray cat that wandered into a construction company in Mexico, and the management wisely decided to hire him on the spot.
- The next story is about animals that earn their keep at the Bronx Zoo. They graciously agree to meet and interact with their human fans. Incidentally, if you are in New York and you would like to experience this, the Zoo offers such experiences as “Wild Encounters.”
- And as long as we’re on the animal theme, this short clip (TikTok) shows the drama of animal CT scans and how vet workers prep and secure animals to keep them safe.
- Finally, if you like features about animals and wildlife, The Guardian posts a weekly photo roundup of the best flora and fauna shots from around the world.
HR News – Blog posts you may have missed!
- A Parent’s Guide to Back-to-School Success
- September 2026 Dates for Employee Communications
- Preventing Fraud and Identity Theft