Bringing the Human back to Human Resources

This Policy Pulse episode breaks down three major employment law developments HR leaders need on their radar right now: a Supreme Court ruling that changes how federal agencies operate, an update on the Workday AI discrimination lawsuit, and a new Maryland law restricting mandatory workplace meetings.

Traci and Bryan dig into what each of these means for how you operate day to day, and why "wait and see" isn't always the wrong move.

In this episode:
The Supreme Court just overturned a hundred year old precedent, and it changes who controls the NLRB and EEOC
Why HR leaders should brace for more whiplash every time a new president takes office
An update on the Workday AI hiring lawsuit, and why the EEOC backing off doesn't mean you're in the clear
The specific employer mistake that can trigger a bias claim even without ever asking about disability
Why state level enforcement might matter more than federal enforcement going forward
Maryland's new law banning mandatory political and anti-union meetings, and why there's no small employer exception
The real reason this law is being called a Trojan horse for union busting
Why having someone dedicated to regional compliance is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity

Got thoughts or questions on this episode? Email Traci at contact@hrtraci.com and share your feedback in the comments wherever you're listening.

Connect with Bryan Driscoll: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjohndriscoll/

Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

Agentic AI is already changing how HR teams buy technology, lead their people, and think about who belongs in the room when decisions about the future of work get made — and most HR leaders don't have a strategy for any of it.

This week Traci sits down with Joey Price, CEO of Jumpstart HR, a TEDx speaker on AI in the workplace, and author of The Power of HR: How to Make an Organizational Impact as a People Professional. A SHRM Top 30 Under 30 alum and one of the top 100 HR tech influencers of 2025, Joey also hosts his own podcast, While We Were Working, and brings years of hands-on experience helping HR teams navigate technology decisions with humanity at the center.

What We Cover
- Why "if you're not at the table for digital transformation, you're on the menu"
- The framework Joey built to help HR leaders actually buy technology the right way
- The surprising number of HR leaders who don't have an AI strategy at all
- The five workforce archetypes and where your organization actually falls
- Whether AI is coming for your job, and what to do about it either way

Connect with Joey Price: LinkedIn | JumpStartHR.com | The Power of HR Book | Podcast

Connect with Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

This week's Policy Pulse segment tackles three major legal developments HR leaders need to know about: the EEOC's lawsuit against The New York Times over its DEI program, Colorado's rollback of its AI hiring law, and a Supreme Court case that could give the president the power to fire agency heads at the EEOC and NLRB without cause.

Bryan Driscoll returns for another Policy Pulse segment, bringing his employment law expertise to break down the cases and policy shifts shaping workplace compliance right now. As our resident legal expert, Bryan helps translate the legal jargon into what it actually means for your business.

In this episode:
- The EEOC just sued The New York Times over its own DEI program, and the case could reshape how discrimination claims get proven going forward.
- Colorado gutted its AI hiring law, but that doesn't mean the compliance risk disappeared.
- Your AI chat history could end up as evidence in a lawsuit.
- A Supreme Court case could hand the president the power to fire the heads of the EEOC and NLRB at will.
- Good intentions won't protect you from a discrimination claim if your documentation doesn't back them up.

Connect with Bryan Driscoll, JD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjohndriscoll/

Connect with Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

AI is reshaping how companies hire and how job seekers land interviews, and this week's guest is building the tools making it happen.
Traci sits down with Reimund Nienaber, a seasoned HR leader and global talent development expert with more than 20 years of experience spanning telecommunications, expat HR leadership across five continents, and now consulting work at Edligo.
As Director of Consulting and Customer Success, Reimund helps organizations figure out what their people actually know, where the gaps are, and how to close them as AI reshapes roles across every department.
What We Talked About:
Will AI Really Give Us a Two Day Work Week?
Meet the AI Recruiter Agent Changing the Game
The CV Feedback Job Seekers Never Get
From Germany to Latin America: A Career Built on Skills,
The Competency Gap Killing AI Transformation Projects
The Simple Question That Starts Every Successful Learning Culture

Connect with Reimund Nienaber: LinkedIn | Edligo Learning and Talent Analytics LinkedIn | Edligo.net
Contact Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci
Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.
Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

Michael Timms joins the podcast to break down why most "succession planning" in organizations is actually just replacement planning in disguise, and why that distinction matters more than most HR leaders realize.
Michael Timms is an internationally sought after speaker, consultant, and bestselling author who teaches leaders how to inspire accountability. He's the author of How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability, the basis for his TEDx talk "How to Claim Your Leadership Power," and Succession Planning That Works. Through his company, Avail Leadership, he partners with organizations to build high performance cultures of teamwork and accountability.
What We Cover:
– The real difference between succession planning and replacement planning, and why most organizations are only doing one of them
– Why the nine box might be doing more harm than good in your organization
– The uncomfortable truth about who actually gets to decide someone's "potential"
– What the research says about how much your manager actually shapes your performance
– Why most leadership competency lists accidentally describe an impossible person
– The handful of behaviors that actually predict great leadership, and how to find them
– A better, less political way to identify who's ready to grow
– The employee headcount where succession planning actually starts to matter
– Why developing people, even the ones who might leave, is never a loss
Michael challenges a lot of what HR has been taught to accept as best practice, and this conversation is a great reminder of why it's worth questioning the tools we default to. Be sure to check out his TEDx talk, linked in the show notes, for more on claiming your leadership power.
Connect with Michael Timms: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website | TED Talk
Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci
Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.
Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.