Workforce Trust & Safety
Real-world incidents and liability cases that illustrate what happens when workforce risk goes unmanaged negligent hiring verdicts, criminal incidents involving employees or contractors, and employer safety failures.
Supreme Court Lets State Negligent Hiring Claims Reach Freight Brokers
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on May 14, 2026 in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act does not preempt state negligent hiring claims against freight brokers, allowing an injured trucker's case against C.H. Robinson to proceed under Illinois law. The plaintiff alleged the broker hired a motor carrier despite a conditional federal safety rating tied to driver qualification and hours of service violations. The decision opens freight brokers to broader state tort exposure and elevates the importance of carrier vetting and continuous safety monitoring.
Source: SCOTUSblog | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
House Bill Would Make Assaulting Healthcare Workers a Federal Crime
The Save Healthcare Workers Act, reintroduced by Representatives Madeleine Dean and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, would create federal criminal penalties for knowingly assaulting or intimidating hospital employees and authorize Attorney General grants for hospital violence prevention programs. A May 16, 2026 report from the Philadelphia Inquirer notes the bill now has 48 cosponsors and is modeled on existing protections for flight crews and airport staff. The legislation responds to sustained increases in healthcare workplace violence reported across multiple state and federal data sources.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
COMPLIANCE & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Federal and state employment law changes that affect hiring and workforce management covering EEO guidance, drug testing policy shifts, I-9/E-Verify updates, wage and hour developments, and fair chance legislation.
EEOC Sues Buc-ee's Over Denial of Disability Accommodation
The EEOC announced on May 26, 2026 that it had sued travel center retailer Buc-ee's, Ltd., alleging the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it denied a cashier in Bastrop, Texas a reasonable accommodation for myasthenia gravis and later terminated him. The cashier had requested accommodations including seating to avoid continuous standing tied to physician-imposed restrictions in October 2024. The suit, EEOC v. Buc-ee's, Ltd., Case No. 1:26-CV-0139, seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Central Transport to Pay $5.5 Million Over Refusal to Hire Female Drivers
On May 15, 2026, the EEOC announced an early $5.5 million resolution with Warren, Michigan-based trucking company Central Transport over allegations the carrier repeatedly passed over qualified female driver applicants for more than a decade, in some cases throwing applications in the trash at terminal locations. Under the consent decree filed in Arizona federal court, payments to the four original complainants and a class of other qualified female applicants will be split 25 percent back pay and 75 percent compensatory damages. The decree also requires Central Transport to engage an outside consultant to review hiring policies and to appoint a monitor.
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Virginia Enacts First Paid Family and Medical Leave Law in the South
Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Virginia's paid family and medical leave law on May 11, 2026, requiring employers with 10 or more employees to participate in a state program providing up to 12 weeks of paid leave at 80 percent of wages for qualifying family, medical, and parental events, plus up to four weeks of safe leave for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or harassment. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, with payroll contributions beginning April 2028 and benefits available December 2028. Virginia becomes the first southern state to adopt a state-mandated paid family and medical leave benefit.
Source: Virginia Mercury | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Data Privacy & Tech in Hiring
Emerging regulation around AI hiring tools, algorithmic fairness, biometric data, and candidate privacy covering federal guidance rollbacks and the growing patchwork of state-level AI employment laws.
Colorado Repeals and Replaces 2024 AI Act with Narrower Disclosure Law
Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 26-189 on May 14, 2026, repealing the 2024 Colorado Artificial Intelligence Act and replacing it with the Colorado Automated Decision-Making Technology Act, which takes effect January 1, 2027. The new statute drops the prior law's duty of care, risk management program, and impact assessment requirements in favor of pre-use notice, post-adverse-outcome disclosure, and a defined set of consumer rights tied to covered automated decision-making technology in consequential decisions including employment. Employers using AI in hiring decisions in Colorado should update notice and disclosure workflows ahead of the 2027 effective date.
Source: Holland & Knight | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Hiring & Employment Fraud
Emerging and evolving fraud targeting employers; synthetic identity fraud, deepfake interview candidates, credential misrepresentation, and coordinated fraud schemes — drawn from law enforcement, fraud research, and industry data.
DOJ Sentences Two U.S. Nationals for Hosting North Korean IT Worker Scheme
On May 6, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the sentencings of Matthew Issac Knoot and Erick Ntekereze Prince, two U.S. nationals who each received 18 months in prison for facilitating fraudulent remote IT worker schemes that generated revenue for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The defendants hosted laptops shipped by victim U.S. companies to overseas operatives and installed remote desktop tools that masked the workers' actual locations. Combined, the schemes generated more than $1.2 million for the DPRK and impacted nearly 70 victim companies.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Labor Market & Workforce Trends
Macro hiring data and workforce behavior trends, jobs reports, quit rates, labor force participation, and hiring volume by sector that frame the environment organizations are hiring into.
Indeed Hiring Lab: Shrinking Workforce and AI Reallocation Will Define Next 15 Years
Indeed Hiring Lab's May 14, 2026 analysis projects that a shrinking U.S. workforce, accelerating AI adoption, and large-scale labor reallocation will be the defining forces shaping hiring through 2040. The analysis frames the current low-hire, low-fire equilibrium as a transitional state rather than a return to pre-pandemic norms. AI-related job postings now exceed 5 percent of all listings on Indeed, well above the prior peak of 3.3 percent in 2022, while software development demand tied to AI has risen 14 percent year over year as of April 30, 2026.
Source: Indeed Hiring Lab | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Initial Jobless Claims Fall to 209,000 for Week Ending May 16
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on May 21, 2026 that initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 3,000 to 209,000 for the week ending May 16. Continuing claims rose by 15,000 to 1,786,000. The following week's release showed initial claims at 215,000 for the week ending May 23. The figures remain below year-ago averages, reflecting continued low layoff activity despite slower hiring in technology and white-collar sectors.
Source: U.S. News & World Report / U.S. Department of Labor | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Industry-Specific Incidents
Vertical-specific news across Transportation, Healthcare, Childcare, Youth Sports, Food Service, Retail, Light Industrial, Education, and more including sector regulators like DOT/FMCSA and CMS.
DOT Launches Motus Trucking Registration System and $217M Safety Investment
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy launched the FMCSA's new USDOT Registration System, Motus, on May 18, 2026 to replace legacy registration platforms and tighten anti-fraud controls in motor carrier onboarding. On May 11, 2026, the Department announced plans to invest $217 million in trucking safety enforcement and workforce development. FMCSA also removed 12 devices from its registered Electronic Logging Device list on May 19. The changes affect carrier registration, compliance review, and broker due diligence workflows.
Source: FMCSA / U.S. Department of Transportation | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
CMS Imposes Nationwide Enrollment Freeze on New Hospices and Home Health Agencies
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollments for hospices and home health agencies effective May 13, 2026, citing concerns about fraud, waste, and abuse in those provider categories. The freeze follows a February 2026 moratorium on certain durable medical equipment, prosthetics, and orthotics suppliers tied to more than $1.5 billion in suspected fraudulent billing. The action affects new operators entering the post-acute care market and increases scrutiny on staffing, ownership, and credential verification for existing providers.
Source: Becker's Payer Issues | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Louisiana Daycare Worker Charged After Reported Infant Abuse
Heidi Henson, an 18-year-old worker at Mimi's Playhouse daycare in Sulphur, Louisiana, was booked on multiple counts of cruelty to juveniles in May 2026 following an incident involving a three-month-old infant. The child's family said through counsel that the daycare did not act with sufficient speed once the alleged conduct came to its attention. The case is one of several recent licensed-childcare arrests that have prompted operators to revisit hiring screening, ongoing conduct monitoring, and incident response procedures.
Source: Hawaii News Now / Gray Media | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
Gig & Contingent Workforce
Regulatory and legal developments specific to non-traditional workforce arrangements, independent contractor classification rulings, platform liability, staffing agency regulations, and gig worker rights.
Supreme Court Exempts Last-Mile Delivery Drivers from FAA Arbitration
On May 28, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock that drivers who deliver out-of-state goods entirely within one state may qualify for the Federal Arbitration Act's transportation worker exemption, even when they do not cross state lines or load vehicles that do. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that an intrastate leg of an interstate journey can still count as engagement in interstate commerce. The decision narrows the enforceability of mandatory arbitration agreements covering last-mile drivers used by retailers, food distributors, and logistics platforms.
Source: Supreme Court of the United States | SEE FULL ARTICLE →
