SHRM HR News

4 days ago | shrm.org | Kathryn Mayer

President Donald Trump’s tariffs are beginning to affect inflation, although economists say most of the impacts are yet to come. The consumer price index (CPI) for April increased 0.2% on a monthly basis, after falling 0.2% in March, and rose 2.3% for the 12 months ending in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported May 13. The annual inflation rate was just below March’s 2.4% figure.

4 days ago | shrm.org | Kathryn Mayer

Employees say a sizeable annual merit pay bump — at least above 5% — is only fair from their companies at the same time that their organizations are pumping the brakes on salary increases. U.S. workers believe that, on average, an annual 8.2% pay increase is fair and reasonable, according to a recent labor market report from San Francisco-based finance company NerdWallet. The median, however, is lower at 5%, according to the company’s January survey of 2,087 U.S. adults.

1 week ago | shrm.org | Allen Smith

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced it will not apply the 2024 independent contractor rule, which narrowed the scope of independent contractor classification, in its enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the announcement will make it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors, the 2024 rule remains intact for purposes of private litigation.

1 week ago | shrm.org | Allen Smith

More than 1 in 7 HR professionals said their organization had conducted a reduction in force (RIF) over the last 30 days, according to the SHRM March 2025 Current Events Pulse survey. Among those HR professionals who conducted layoffs, the most likely reason was a workforce reorganization (50%), followed by changes in business strategy (37%) and poor business performance (36%).

1 week ago | shrm.org | Allen Smith

A federal court has stayed proceedings in litigation over the 2024 overtime rule while the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reconsiders the regulations. The department asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the stay in the case it appealed in February. The court agreed on April 29 and required the agency to file a status report with the court every 60 days.