Human Times
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North American Edition
22nd July 2026
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THE HOT STORY

EEOC moves to scrap employer reporting of worker race and sex data

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed to eliminate the EEO-1 reporting requirement, which mandates that employers submit data on the race and sex of their workers. The EEOC has previously used the information to probe bias complaints filed by individual workers and to determine if companies exhibit a pattern of discriminatory conduct. EEOC chair Andrea Lucas, a Trump administration ​appointee, said that sorting workers by race and sex can encourage discrimination, including against majority groups such ⁠as ⁠white people and men. "The EEO data ⁠reports stand in direct tension ​with (federal law's) requirement that employment practices be colorblind," Lucas said. Kalpana Kotagal, the lone Democratic member of the commission who voted to reject the proposal, said: "These efforts should ⁠be seen for what they are: an attempt to weaken equal employment opportunity, and to undermine progress for women and historically marginalized communities." 
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Companies launch skilled trades workforce initiative

BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford, and Google have joined forces to address the growing shortage of skilled tradespeople in the U.S. through the Alliance for America's Skilled Trades. The initiative aims to collaborate with labor unions and trade associations, invest in apprenticeship programs, and raise awareness about career pathways. Bayo Ogunlesi, BlackRock's chairman, emphasized the importance of a skilled workforce, saying: “Investment in America's infrastructure will help shape the country's long-term economic trajectory.” The shortage is being exacerbated by an aging workforce, leading to increased job openings and pay for trades including electricians and plumbers. “Building the physical infrastructure for America's future requires significantly increasing the pipeline of skilled tradespeople across the country - a challenge that can only be addressed with collective action,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said. Google is one of the largest builders and operators of data centers.
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LEGAL

IRS chief denies allegations of workplace surveillance

A Wall Street Journal investigation alleges that Frank Bisignano, now head of the IRS and the Social Security Administration (SSA), directed staff to access internal emails and other sensitive employee information while serving as co-chief operating officer at JPMorgan Chase more than a decade ago. The report cites former colleagues who claim Bisignano used his authority over the bank's security functions to monitor rival executives and employee activity without an apparent business justification, allegations his attorney has categorically denied. According to the report, JPMorgan later tightened controls over access to employee communications following an internal review, although the bank has not publicly confirmed the allegations or any findings of misconduct. Bisignano's attorney said he never authorized surveillance of colleagues, never improperly accessed confidential documents, and voluntarily left JPMorgan to become chief executive of First Data. The allegations have resurfaced as Bisignano oversees two federal agencies responsible for safeguarding sensitive taxpayer and Social Security data. 

Anthropic's $1.5bn settlement of copyright lawsuit approved by judge

A U.S. judge has approved Anthropic’s $1.5bn settlement of a major AI copyright lawsuit filed by a trio of authors - Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson - who accused the company of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in San Francisco granted final approval of the largest known ​settlement of a U.S. copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. Judge William Alsup initially approved the ​deal last September. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair ​use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said. "We are pleased that more than 91% of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward ​to bringing this matter to a close."

Trump administration to soon unveil forced labor trade action, Greer says

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said the Trump administration will soon reveal trade actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act related to forced labor. "We ⁠expect to ⁠see some action soon . . . I can't really specify ​a timeline right now," Greer told CNBC when asked about a Financial Times report ​that the White House was expected to announce tariffs ⁠on ⁠dozens of countries soon ⁠as ​U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary 10% global tariff ​is scheduled ⁠to expire on Friday. Section 301 of U.S. trade law is a provision that authorizes investigations into alleged unfair trade ⁠practices.
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TECHNOLOGY

Call for probe of U.S. derivatives regulator's staff cuts

Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns regarding staffing cuts at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The agency has reportedly reduced its workforce by about 25% since last year. In a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Warren said: "Given reasonable concerns that staffing cuts may have a material impact on the CFTC's ability to carry out its mandate as required by current law, I request that the GAO thoroughly reviews ⁠the staffing cuts." The CFTC has in recent months said that it expects to increase its workforce and has sufficient resources to meet its obligations, in part due to the use of artificial intelligence.
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CYBERSECURITY

OpenAI says its AI technology caused a major cyber breach by itself

OpenAI has said its artificial intelligence system hacked into another AI company on its own in what the company called an “unprecedented cyber incident.” AI startup Hugging Face last week said that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems that it suspected was caused by an AI agent acting autonomously. “AI is accelerating the discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities,” OpenAI said. “The primary lesson from this incident is that model security and safety must keep pace with rapidly advancing capabilities.” OpenAI said it expected this type of incident to become “more commonplace with the proliferation of increasingly cyber-capable models.”
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INTERNATIONAL

Aldi reaches proposed A$55m settlement with over 30,000 workers

Aldi has proposed a A$55m settlement to address claims of underpayment in a class action lawsuit involving over 30,000 workers. The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association had said that Aldi directed employees to work before and after their shifts without pay. Aldi has already compensated approximately A$28.9m to affected workers and anticipates an additional A$26.3m payout, along with A$1.5m for legal fees. SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said: "This is a major result for tens of thousands of current and former Aldi workers." The court will review the settlement in October.

Ukrainian drones strike Wildberries warehouses for second time in four days

Ukraine has reportedly targeted logistics centers belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries for the second time in four days, with overnight drone strikes injuring 15 people and disrupting operations at warehouses in the Krasnodar and Stavropol regions. Kyiv has previously claimed the facilities are used to supply components for Russia's drone and navigation equipment, while regional officials said the wider attacks also killed one worker at a company in Armavir and sparked a fire at an oil depot. The latest strikes follow attacks on Wildberries warehouses in Tambov and Elektrostal on Saturday that reportedly killed eight people and injured 62.

McDonald's chief targets safer workplace culture in U.K.

Lauren Schultz, the chief executive of McDonald's U.K. and Ireland, has pledged to restore confidence in the fast-food chain after years of workplace abuse allegations. Acknowledging that the company's values had been breached, she defended its response, highlighting mandatory anti-harassment training, new reporting systems and a "zero-tolerance" approach. McDonald's remains under legal scrutiny, with more than 700 current and former employees pursuing claims. Schultz said safeguarding staff, particularly its predominantly young workforce, is her top priority while strengthening oversight of franchisees.
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OTHER

Employees are scheduling fake meetings to make time for real work

Workers admit scheduling fake meetings to make time to complete essential tasks or build their network as they seek to escape the relentless cycle of calls and catch-ups.
 
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