HR and future of work · Industry brief

The EEOC resolved two employment discrimination investigations and filed a subpoena enforcement action. The St. Louis Sheriff's Office settled 13 charges of race and age discrimination under Title VII and ADEA, with a five-year compliance agreement requiring policy distribution, employee training on discrimination rights, HR and management training, employee notice posting, and EEOC reporting. Damar Services, Inc. agreed to pay $65,000 to settle an ADA lawsuit alleging disability discrimination in hiring, including screening out applicants with hearing and vision disabilities and rejecting a qualified deaf applicant; a two-year consent decree requires policy updates removing disability-related job requirements, vocational specialist review, staff training, and EEOC reporting. The EEOC also filed a subpoena enforcement action in federal court against the City and County of San Francisco (Northern District of California, Case No. 3:26-mc-80280) as part of an investigation into alleged Title VII race and sex discrimination, seeking information about mandatory DEI training attendance and related complaints.

Connecticut's minimum wage increased to $16.94 per hour effective January 1, 2026, based on a 3.6% employment cost index increase, with a further increase to $17.48 per hour scheduled for January 1, 2027 (3.2% adjustment). The state maintains separate minimum wage rates for tipped workers in hospitality ($6.38 for restaurant/hotel staff, $8.23 for bartenders) and minors at 85% of the standard rate for their first 90 days of employment. Connecticut announced the shift from annual $1 increases to employment cost index-based adjustments starting January 1, 2024, with minimum wage announcements made by October 15 each year (Connecticut HR Consulting Group, September 2026).