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The EEOC's New National Enforcement Plan: What It Means for Small Businesses in 2026

On June 4, 2026, the EEOC adopted a National Enforcement Plan for FY2025–2029 that shelves disparate-impact claims, targets DEI programs with quotas or identity-based preferences, and keeps retaliation a standalone priority. Here's what shifted, why enforcement priorities change small-employer risk even without new law, and five documentation and policy steps to take now.

Your Commissioned Employees, State Minimum Wage, and a Federal Overtime Exemption: What DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-4 Actually Changes

DOL opinion letter FLSA2026-4 (January 2026) confirms the Section 7(i) overtime exemption for commissioned retail and service employees is measured against the federal minimum wage — a regular rate above $10.875/hour — not higher state rates, and clarifies that service charges count as commissions while tips generally don't.

The FTC's $2.7 Million Handy Technologies Refund: What 'Up to $45/Hour' Really Cost a Gig Platform

In July 2026 the FTC mailed $2.7 million in refund checks to 62,893 Handy Technologies gig workers after finding that over 90% of them earned $20+ less than the advertised "up to $45/hour" rate. Here is what the settlement requires, why "up to" earnings claims are now an FTC enforcement priority, and how to reconcile advertised pay against actual payout data in your own books.

Illinois' $95,000 GigSmart Settlement: What Staffing-App Worker Misclassification Means for Your Business

Illinois' attorney general settled with staffing app GigSmart for roughly $95,000 after finding 479 workers misclassified as independent contractors — denied overtime, minimum wage, and Illinois' four-hour minimum shift pay. Here's the ABC test regulators apply, why client businesses can share joint-employer liability, and the labor-cost records that protect you.

Minnesota Just Made 'Sending a Lead' a Licensed Activity — Here's What Changes August 1

Minnesota's HB 4188 redefines 'arranging' small-dollar and short-term consumer loans to include marketing, lead generation, underwriting, and collections. Starting August 1, 2026, lead generators, affiliates, and referral partners handling loans of $1,300 or less may need a Regulated Loan license — Connecticut has already fined an unlicensed mortgage lead generator $50,000 under a similar regime.

NLRB Independent Contractor Rulemaking Petition: What the SuperShuttle Fight Means for Small Businesses

On February 11, 2026, fourteen trade groups — including the American Trucking Associations and the National Retail Federation — petitioned the NLRB to lock in a stable independent contractor standard after three different tests in roughly a decade. Here's how the NLRB test differs from the IRS and DOL frameworks, and what contractor-reliant businesses should do while the petition plays out.

QDOT Rules, Rewritten: What Treasury Decision 10050 Means for Business Owners with Non-Citizen Spouses

Treasury Decision 10050, effective July 10, 2026, delivers the first substantial update to Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) regulations in three decades. Here is why the unlimited marital deduction excludes non-citizen spouses, what a QDOT requires — a U.S. trustee, an affirmative Form 706 election, and security for trusts over $2 million — and which four procedural fixes the new rules make for business owners' estates.

The $2.25 Million Lesson: What the RentGrow FTC Settlement Means If Your Business Runs Background Checks

RentGrow paid a $2.25 million civil penalty to settle FTC allegations of FCRA violations: duplicated eviction and criminal records, an undisclosed data source, and mishandled consumer disputes. Here is what the consent order requires, and the separate FCRA obligations — permissible purpose, written consent, adverse action notices — that any business using screening reports must still meet.

SECURE 2.0's Paper Benefit Statement Rule: What the DOL's Temporary Relief Means for 401(k) Plan Sponsors

SECURE 2.0 requires 401(k) and other defined contribution plans to mail at least one paper benefit statement per year starting with plan years after December 31, 2025. With Q1 2026 statements due around May 15 and the DOL's implementing rule still a proposal, Field Assistance Bulletin 2026-02 pauses enforcement for plan sponsors who comply in good faith — here's what small businesses must still do.