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HR Monthly Round Up - December 2025
In this December 2025 roundup video, we’ll review the most impactful HR news.
Welcome, everyone! In the next few minutes, we’ll review the latest HR news. Let’s get started.
Artificial intelligence, revenue growth, and attracting top talent are on business leaders’ minds for 2026, according to the CEO Priorities and Perspectives study released December 4 by the Society for Human Resource Management. The study, which was conducted in October 2025, was based on a survey of 116 CEOs.
While 87 percent of CEOs surveyed see AI-driven upskilling and reskilling to be prevalent in 2026, the cost of labor is a concern. The survey indicated that 81 percent of CEOs expect rising labor and total workforce costs, and 75 percent anticipate workforce reductions to be a trend in the new year.
In other news, on December 3, two senators introduced bipartisan legislation called the Fair Access for Individuals to Receive Leave Act. If enacted, the bill would eliminate the requirement that married couples who both work for the same employer share the 12 weeks of leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act in certain circumstances, such as when the leave is taken to bond with a healthy newborn child.
If this bill gets enacted, employers would have an easier time tracking FMLA leave and employees would have more leave flexibility. Although this bill might not pass, it indicates that revising legislation about employee leave is still on the minds of lawmakers.
One more quick update, the White House has directed the attorney general to speed up the process of reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. An executive order signed December 18 brings new life to a process that began in 2024 when the federal government published a proposed rule that would move marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to schedule III, a lower-class drug category.
The rescheduling proposal would move marijuana to the same drug class as prescription drugs such as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, and steroids. It would also make it possible for medical marijuana to be prescribed to patients.
While the executive order revives the marijuana rescheduling issue, it will likely be 6-12 months before a final rule is issued. Hearings will need to be scheduled and comments from the hearings will need to be considered before a final rule is published.
That’s all the HR news we have time for today. Thanks for watching. See you next month!
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RECENT INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
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Transportation Monthly Round Up - December 2025
In this December 2025 round up video, we'll review the most impactful transportation news.
In this December 2025 round up, we will discuss a new USDOT registration system called Motus, recent marijuana news in the DOT, and an increase with vision compliance violations. Let's get started.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced the rollout of Motus, a new USDOT registration system designed to streamline compliance and modernize the way motor carriers, brokers, and supporting companies manage their regulatory obligations.
Motus represents a significant shift from the current patchwork of portals, consolidating USDOT numbers, biennial updates, hazmat registrations, and other filings into one secure platform. The initiative aims to simplify processes, enhance fraud prevention, and provide registrants with real-time data validation and mobile accessibility.
As of December 2025, Motus is open with limited access for supporting companies, but motor carriers don't need to re-register immediately. FMCSA anticipates registration requirements will begin in mid to late 2026.
The White House has directed the attorney general to speed up the process of reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. A lot must happen before any changes will occur under the U.S. DOT drug testing regulations, however.
The DOT is required to follow U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) guidelines for DOT drug testing, including the drug testing panel. Until the federal Drug Enforcement Administration acts on rescheduling marijuana, neither the HHS nor DOT can move forward. Changes to the DOT drug testing panel can’t occur until HHS provides new guidelines and regulation 49 CFR Part 40 is revised through the rulemaking process.
At this time, it’s unknown whether there will be any stipulations built into the rescheduling allowing HHS and DOT to continue testing for marijuana.
In 2025, approximately 5,000 commercial drivers were placed out of service (OOS) during roadside inspections for failing to meet vision qualification requirements, ranking as the #12 top driver OOS violation of the year.
The most common issue? Drivers whose licenses carried a “corrective lenses restriction” were not wearing glasses or contacts at the time of inspection. Previous years showed much lower volumes, with vision violations ranking at #17.
The regulations state that if a driver’s license or medical certification indicates corrective lenses are required, the driver must be wearing them or else face an immediate out-of-service order and a citation. This rule applies even if the driver underwent vision correction surgery but neglected to update their license and medical certification.
That’s it for this month’s round up. Stay safe, and thanks for watching.
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EHS Monthly Round Up - December 2025
In this December 2025 roundup video, we'll review the most impactful environmental health and safety news.
Hi everyone! Welcome to the monthly news roundup video, where we’ll review the most impactful environmental health and safety news. Let’s take a look at what happened over the last month.
In fiscal year 2025, the top three violations for non-construction small employers, those with under 100 employees, were hazard communication, respiratory protection, and powered industrial trucks. Three industries dominated these violations: fabricated metal product manufacturing, repair and maintenance, and non-metallic mineral product manufacturing.
OSHA issued several new letters of interpretation on a variety of workplace topics, including permit required confined spaces, recordkeeping, and powered industrial trucks. Letters of interpretation help ensure the consistent application of federal workplace safety and health standards, and provide regulatory clarification to employers, workers, and safety professionals.
California’s STOP Act took effect January 1. The law targets the state’s fabricated stone industry. It prohibits dry cutting of stone countertops, mandates employee training, and classifies silicosis and silica-related lung cancer from artificial stone as a serious injury or illness.
As of January 1, Washington state requires tower crane permits for all construction work involving tower crane operation, assembly, disassembly, and reconfiguration. Before issuing permits, Washington Department of Labor and Industries will conduct safety conferences to ensure all parties understand the safety requirements and related responsibilities.
Turning to environmental news, EPA issued compliance deadline extensions for certain emissions standards. The delays affect the New Source Performance Standards for crude oil and natural gas facilities and the emissions guidelines for such facilities. Compliance timelines have been pushed into mid- to late-2026 and early 2027.
And finally, although EPA has been deregulating or loosening some environmental requirements, there are still some standards being tightened. These include renewable fuel standards, stormwater management, and PFAS disclosure. Changes to these requirements will reshape compliance obligations for U.S. companies in 2026, and reflect a trend toward increased transparency and environmental accountability.
Thanks for tuning in to the monthly news roundup. We’ll see you next month!
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2026-01-09T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsIndustry NewsHazard ClassificationsSafety & HealthGeneral Industry SafetyHazard CommunicationHazard CommunicationEnglishFocus AreaUSA
OSHA issues further HazCom corrections
On January 8, OSHA issued further technical corrections to its Hazard Communication final rule, which was originally published on May 20, 2024. An initial set of corrections was published October 9, 2024, and OSHA continued to review 29 CFR 1910.1200 and its appendices for errors. The agency said these corrections should reduce confusion during the classification process and prevent errors on labels and safety data sheets.
In the regulatory text at paragraph (c), ‘‘chemicals under pressure’’ was added to the definition of ‘‘physical hazard” and the definition of “liquid” now includes the PSI conversion (14.69 PSI) with the first reference to the value 101.3 kPa.
Numerous images and typographical and formatting errors were corrected in Appendices A, B, C, D, and F to 1910.1200. For a detailed list, see the table in the January 8 Federal Register.
OSHA intends to update related FAQs, guidance documents, and other supporting materials on its Hazard Communication topic page.
As a reminder, the first HazCom compliance date for the revised 2024 final rule is January 19, 2026. See our related article: First HazCom compliance date just around the corner
For more on the May 2024 and October 2024 HazCom changes, see the following articles:
OSHA’s HazCom final rule is here! (5/20/2024)
OSHA issues HazCom corrections (10/09/2024)
See also, What changes did OSHA make to the HazCom Standard in 2024?
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2026-01-09T06:00:00Z
NewsTraining & DevelopmentUSAHR ManagementEnglishTalent Management & RecruitingAssociate Benefits & CompensationIndustry NewsIndustry NewsWage and HourWage and HourMinimum WageFair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)Non-Exempt employees HR GeneralistOvertimeAssociate RelationsFocus AreaHuman Resources
DOL explains that employers don’t have to classify employees as exempt (“salaried”)
Employers are allowed to classify some employees as exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if those employees meet certain criteria. Those employees must, however, meet all the criteria. Simply having a job that could fall under part of the criteria isn’t enough.
An employee learned this from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) early this year when the agency published an opinion letter.
The question
The employee, whose job fell under the learned professional exemption under the FLSA (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), asked the WHD if their employer could reclassify them from an exempt to a nonexempt status, despite their belief that they continue to satisfy the educational and job duties criteria of an exempt learned professional under the FLSA.
The WHD said “yes.” Here’s why.
For an employer to classify an employee as exempt, the employee must:
- Be paid on a salary basis,
- Be paid at least the minimum salary threshold, and
- Meet certain duties tests.
The employer in question went through an internal restructuring and reclassified the employee as hourly (nonexempt) and removed her supervisory duties. It was the lack of supervisor responsibilities that caused the employer to reclassify the employee.
The employee felt that, because the job duties for a professional exemption were still intact, the employee should remain exempt.
The answer
The WHD said that the lack of supervisor duties wasn’t the issue. The employee was being paid by the hour, and that would cause the employee to no longer be exempt.
The WHD went on to say that even if all the criteria for an FLSA exemption are met, the employer—not the employee — determines the exemption. Employers don’t have to classify any employee as exempt. In fact, all employees (even high-level executives) can be classified as nonexempt. The nonexempt status is the baseline. Employers may only classify employees as exempt if the criteria are met and they want to assign that classification.
Key to remember: Employees must be paid on a salary basis to be considered exempt, along with meeting other criteria. Employers don’t have to classify employees as exempt, even if they meet the criteria.
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NewsVideoFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)USAFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)HR ManagementEnglishHuman ResourcesTalent Management & RecruitingAssociate Benefits & CompensationIndustry NewsHR GeneralistLabor Law PostersLabor Law PostersAssociate RelationsFocus AreaMonthly Roundup Video
HR Monthly Round Up - January 2025
In this January 2025 roundup video, we’ll review the most impactful HR news.
Welcome, everyone! In the next few minutes, we’ll review the latest HR news. Let’s get started.
On January 10, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it was raising penalties for employers that don’t properly display federal labor law posters.
The penalty increase went into effect on January 15. The maximum fine is now more than $43,000. Employers should make sure they are properly displaying all required labor law postings.
Speaking of posters, recent executive orders under the new administration removed protections for gender identity discrimination and revoked a previous executive order. This, as well as a leadership change at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will likely mean a mandatory change to the federal Know Your Rights poster. This poster must be displayed by employers with 15 or more employees as well as federal contractors. Some are wondering when a new poster will be required, however, the timing is uncertain. We'll keep watching for updates, so stay tuned.
And, finally, most employers know that employees may take time off under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act for themselves or to take care of a spouse, parent, or child. But what about siblings? Generally, siblings aren’t covered under the FMLA, but in a recent court case out of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, a judge ruled in favor of an employee taking leave to care for an adult sibling because the employee was acting in the role of a parent to the sibling. The fancy term for this is “in loco parentis.” Employers might not realize the scope of how such relationships work. This case is a good example of how one court ruled. But it doesn’t mean that employers should assume all siblings are suddenly included under the FMLA. The point is, employers need to look at all the facts involved before denying an employee’s FMLA leave.
That’s all the HR news we have time for today. Thanks for watching. See you next month!
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Copyright 2026 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.