Welcome to Issue #24 of The Compliance Brief. Every Tuesday I break down the HR and labor law updates that actually matter to small businesses — in plain English, no legal jargon.

EEOC's Year-End Filing Blitz Puts Hiring Practices Under the Microscope

The EEOC's fiscal year ended September 30, with more than 20 suits filed in September alone. Several share a theme that matters for small employers: how people get hired.

El Dorado Furniture, a Florida retailer with 19 stores, agreed to pay $1.3 million to resolve a national origin discrimination charge involving non-Hispanic applicants. Birchstone Management, a warehousing company, paid $500,000 after refusing to hire a female applicant. The EEOC also sued a Texas tree-trimming company for allegedly refusing to hire women into field roles.

None of these hinge on a manager announcing a bias. They tend to grow out of informal habits: who gets referred, where jobs are posted, assumptions about who "does this kind of work." Small businesses often hire by word of mouth, which is exactly what investigators examine.

Action step: Review where you post jobs and how candidates reach you, and make sure screening for physical roles rests on written, job-related criteria.

1. Maryland Limits Mandatory Political Meetings

Effective October 1, Maryland employers can't retaliate against employees who decline meetings about the employer's views on religious or political matters, including unionizing. If your all-hands meetings touch on those topics, make attendance clearly voluntary.

2. Correction: ACA Affordability Applies to 2027 Plan Years

In Issue #15 I tied the 10.22% affordability percentage to 2026. It actually applies to plan years beginning in 2027; 2026 plans stay at 9.96%. If you have 50+ full-time-equivalent employees, test 2027 contributions against 10.22% before open enrollment.

3. DOL Keeps Wage-Hour Guidance in Place

On October 6, the DOL withdrew a proposal to remove older FLSA interpretive guidance. Existing opinion letters remain available as support for good-faith compliance, so keep copies of the ones that apply to you.

✅ Review where you post jobs and how candidates are referred

✅ Make Maryland meetings on political or union topics voluntary

✅ Test 2027 contributions against 10.22%

✅ Save current DOL opinion letters in your compliance file

The EEOC's page on prohibited hiring practices explains how discrimination rules apply from job ads to final decisions: eeoc.gov

That's it for this week. Short, actionable, no fluff.

If this was useful, forward it to another small business owner who could use it.

See you next Tuesday.

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This is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.