Workspan Daily News Bytes for July 25, 2025

Rhode Island Becomes First State to Mandate Menopause Accommodations

Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee recently signed into law legislation requiring employers to provide workplace accommodations for applicants and employees experiencing menopause and related medical conditions, making the state the first in the nation to explicitly enact these workplace protections.

Democratic Sen. Lori Urso introduced the legislation (Senate Bill 0361), and Democratic Rep. Karen Alzate introduced a companion bill in the House (House Bill 6161).

“This bill was introduced because women should not have to risk being penalized or discriminated against at their job due to a naturally occurring phenomenon that they have no control over,” said Alzate.

Urso added, “Today, we have taken the first step toward setting a nationwide example by protecting our workers, retaining our talent and helping women achieve their highest potential.”

According to employment law firm Littler Mendelson P.C., the legislation, which went into effect immediately, amends the section of the Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act requiring employers to provide a reasonable accommodation for an applicant’s or employee’s condition related to pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions to now require accommodation of menopause and related medical conditions. Menopause symptoms may include hot flashes, night sweats, emotional changes and physical ailments.

Payscale: AI and Social Media Driving Salary Misinformation

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming a go-to tool in salary research, according to a new report from Payscale, a compensation software and data company.

Payscale’s 2025 Pay Confidence Gap Report, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. workers and 500 U.S. business leaders, HR leaders and HR managers, found:

• 70% of employers have noticed a rise in employees using AI to shape salary expectations.
• 18% of employees are sourcing salary information from AI assistants like ChatGPT.
• 19% are turning to social media platforms like TikTok, Reddit, Instagram and Facebook for salary information.

As a result, salary conversations are becoming increasingly challenging for employers to navigate, said Payscale. Almost half of employees (41%) said they have never had a transparent discussion with their employer about how their pay is determined, and two-thirds (66%) of employees would consider leaving their job if a pay conversation is handled poorly.

To combat the rise of tough pay conversations, Payscale said HR leaders are looking for support from leadership on:

• Pay decisions (46%)
• Greater pay transparency (44%)
• Reliable, accurate and up-to-date compensation data insights (42%).

“Employees are still gaining knowledge from traditional sources like family and friends and industry salary guides, but AI and social media are driving up salary expectations without the verified data and role context needed to inform compensation,” said Ruth Thomas, a chief compensation strategist at Payscale. “In the face of mounting misinformation, too many employers aren’t having the right conversations with their employees about pay. It’s critical they develop compensation strategies that are rooted in transparency, are driven by data and ensure compensation decisions are communicated clearly to improve pay confidence among employees.”  

Active Job Search Activity on the Rise

According to new research from CompTIA, a global provider of information technology (IT) training and certifications, active job seekers and career changers increased to 34% of the U.S. labor force, up from the prior January 2025 rate of 27%. The CompTIA report was conducted in June and included responses from 2,024 active job seekers and non-seekers.

“The sheer scale of active job seekers — more than 50 million — means we’re seeing a wide array of experiences, perceptions and motivating factors, sometimes even conflicting ones,” said Amy Carrado, the senior director of workforce research at CompTIA. “This presents both opportunities and challenges for employers and workers alike.”

The report showed job seekers are actively searching in the following top-five career fields:

1. Sales, marketing, retail and real estate
2. Hospitality, food, travel and tourism
3. Technology, IT support, cybersecurity, data, cloud and software
4. Manufacturing and production
5. Construction, skilled trades, operators and architects

Among workers not actively searching for a new job, 49% said they are committed to further building their skills for career maintenance or career advancement. Nearly 90% of all workers rate digital fluency skills as important in today’s workforce. Business and professional skills and job-function specific skills also rated highly.

Target Employees Required to Return to Office Three Days a Week

Target’s commercial-unit employees are being asked to return to the office at least three days a week, according to CBS News.

Starting Sept. 2, employees at the retail chain’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters will have the opportunity to pick what days during the week suit them best, based off their schedule. 

“Team members tell us they see the benefit from the in-person connection and collaboration that’s a part of being in the office. At this point, individual leaders are empowered to make decisions for their teams based on company guidance as well as what’s best for the role they play in our business,” Target chief commercial officer Rick Gomez wrote in a memo to employees.

Target operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people. Its downtown headquarters employs more than 7,000 workers.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Employee Benefits
• Employee Compensation
• Employee Experience
• Finance and Budgeting
• Well-Being