In our latest HR News Roundup, we feature items on Sports Lessons, HR Certification, TPS and HR, Noncompetes, Neurodivergent employees, and more. And don’t miss our items from the lighter side!
How Elite Sports Coaches Make High-Pressure Decisions
Alan McCall, Adrian Wolfberg, Johann Bilsborough, Ricard Pruna – Harvard Business Review
Drawing on interviews with 11 elite coaches across major U.S., European, Australian, and New Zealand professional sports leagues, the authors show that high-pressure decisions aren’t a single “formula” but a set of practices that unfold before, during, and after pivotal moments—and translate directly to business leadership. Top coaches combine disciplined preparation with emotional control and social awareness during crunch time and accountability and continual system improvement after the fact.
Do HR Practitioners Need Certifications to Thrive Professionally?
Caroline Colvin, HR Dive
Professional certifications for human resources professionals have long been the cornerstone of skills assessment in the field. Maybe these traditional credentials serve as a supplement to a degree in HR or industrial and organizational psychology. Maybe they solidify a career choice after decades in the workforce.
But in 2026, HR professionals may be thinking differently about these mainstays of HR professional development, including those from major players like SHRM and the HR Certification Institute. About 1 in 5 respondents in HR Dive’s Identity of HR survey (21%) said they expect HR certification to be deprioritized in the next three to five years.
Why Your Noncompete Agreement Could Become “Exhibit A” in a Discrimination Lawsuit
Jon Hyman, Ohio Employers’ Log Blog
For years, employers have treated noncompete agreements as just another item in the onboarding paperwork. Hand over the offer letter, the handbook acknowledgment, the tax forms, and somewhere in the stack sits a restrictive covenant that employees sign without much thought.
The recently settled lawsuit against Boston Beer Company serves as a reminder that noncompetes rarely stay confined to contract disputes. They can become Exhibit A in a much larger employment-law battle.
Related: Your Business May Be Exposed if You Rely Too Heavily on Noncompetes
After Mullin v. Doe: The HR Playbook for Every TPS Termination
Jed Butler, i-9intelligence
In Mullin v. Doe, decided June 25, 2026 (Docket No. 25-1083, consolidated with 25-1084), the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 to eliminate virtually all federal court review of TPS termination decisions. The holding — that 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(5)(A) forecloses judicial challenges to TPS designation, termination, or extension decisions — is settled law, and every future termination will arrive without a litigation backstop. For HR teams, that means the compliance window on every future termination is shorter, sharper, and entirely a workforce management problem.
The ruling creates a trap with two jaws: move too early and you face anti-discrimination liability under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, enforced by the DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER); wait too long after USCIS guidance issues and you face employer sanctions under 8 U.S.C. § 1324a. The discipline that keeps employers out of both jaws is the same whenever a TPS country gets terminated: audit by document category code, not by nationality — and act on USCIS guidance, not headlines.
Related: SCOTUS Lifts TPS Termination Injunctions for Haiti, Syria; Employers Await DHS Guidance
How to Build a ‘What This Means for You’ Employee Messaging Framework
Sean Devlin, Ragan
When employees receive a major company update, they first want to know what it means for their work. A repeatable messaging framework can help communicators craft messaging to answer that urgent question.
“The most important thing to keep in mind is putting yourself into the role of the individual who’s receiving the information,” said Lisa Claybon, vice president of corporate affairs at a global foodservice company.
That kind of employee-first lens should always be a part of any framework, as a single announcement can mean very different things to teams working at the same company. The framework can help keep the core of the message intact while customizing it when needed.
Why Neurodivergent Employees Still Fear Disclosure At Work
Jennifer Jay Palumbo, Forbes
Workplace conversations about neurodiversity have become more visible in recent years. Companies talk about inclusion. Leaders discuss accommodations. Employee resource groups are growing. Yet for many neurodivergent professionals, the decision to disclose a diagnosis still feels risky.
New findings from Understood.org’s Neurodiversity at Work survey suggest that progress remains uneven. While awareness has increased, many employees continue to worry about stigma, lack clarity about available support, and question whether sharing their neurodivergence could affect their careers.
Leading Through Low Morale
Ashley C. Jordan, Psychology Today
Workplace morale problems rarely have quick fixes or simple technical solutions. Strong leaders resist rushing to solutions before fully understanding the problem. Employees closest to the work often have the clearest insight into needed change.
23% of the US Workforce Is 55 or Older: The Retirement Wave Is Coming
Tom Starner, HR Executive
Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster, explains that as workforce aging continues across many industries, succession planning and knowledge transfer will likely become increasingly important priorities for employers.
She suggests that organizations may benefit from identifying roles where operational knowledge, leadership expertise, technical processes, or long-standing client relationships are heavily concentrated within a small number of employees, and planning proactively about how that knowledge can be shared over time.
HR News Roundup: Quick Takes
- ICE Updates I-9 Inspection Fact Sheet
- 5 Phrases Highly Successful People Use to Disagree with Their Bosses
- What Should a [Workplace] Heat Illness Prevention Plan Include?
- The Knicks Just Gave Us a Teaching Moment. Let’s Not Waste It.
- Mid-Year Paid Family Medical Leave Update – June 2026
- Fired After 3 Hours: What a Fast-Food Owner’s Viral Move Teaches Us About Training New Hires
- States with Too Many Workers—and States That Need More
- New DOL Opinion Letters Clarify Exempt Status, Quarterly Bonuses, Meal Periods + Pre-Shift Activities
- See the Most Fatal U.S. States for Workers, Mapped
- NYS Hospitals, Nursing Homes Must Adopt Violence Prevention Programs
- 9 in 10 Workers Would Switch Jobs for Better Financial Benefits
- Almost 50% of Preventable Cancers Linked to Just Two Lifestyle Habits
- Why You Might Not Need to Pay That Medical Bill
- 5 Risky Wellness Trends Doctors Want You to Avoid
From the Lighter Side …
- If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and surf some clips on YouTube or your favorite social media to see foreign World Cup visitors’ reactions to U.S. people, places, food, and daily living details we take for granted. See: World Cup visitors are going viral for their reactions to everyday American life. But it hasn’t just been a great discovery for our visiting tourists … it’s been a great experience for us, too. Check out this moving reaction from a self-described “Florida redneck” about the gift that FIFA gave back to us (warning – use of the word d#mn, which may offend some.) It nicely sums up what many of us have felt watching all of this.
- Alison Green of Ask a Manager blog has an amusing post about conference speaker fails that were submitted by her readers: The Mime Who Wouldn’t Shut Up, the Trumpet Player, and Other Conference Speaker Disasters.
- Hot enough for you yet? Here’s a fun idea for keeping cool in a heatwave – a fun creative challenge for you, your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, or the kids next door: Create playful silhouettes on the driveway. Links lead to TikTok clips: Pop Culture Creations and Hot Day Kids Activities.
- Everyone know that the real purpose of the internet is as a vehicle for sharing charming and hilarious cat and dog videos. But perhaps we haven’t been giving ferrets their due? As an employment-related blog, we like to feature animals with jobs whenever we can. Check out this great video about about the world’s cutest working cable guys:
HR News – Blog posts you may have missed!