Episode Details

In episode 254, Coffey talks with David Miklas about rapidly changing employment law trends surrounding DEI programs, EEOC enforcement priorities, workplace discrimination claims, AI risks in HR investigations, and the evolving legal landscape employers face in 2026. 

They discuss the EEOC’s proposal to eliminate EEO-1 reporting requirements and how demographic data impacts systemic discrimination claims; the legal distinction between lawful diversity efforts and illegal DEI employment practices; reverse discrimination lawsuits and Title VII protections for all employees regardless of majority or minority status; the risks of workforce balancing, quotas, and race-conscious hiring decisions; employee resource groups and affinity programs that may unintentionally create unlawful workplace segregation; recent federal court rulings on DEI training, race-based programming, and compelled speech claims; practical recruiting strategies for expanding applicant pools without violating discrimination laws; how employers can maintain merit-based hiring while improving diversity outreach efforts; the increasing role of AI-generated deepfakes and manipulated media in workplace investigations and litigation; discovery risks involving ChatGPT prompts, AI-generated HR documentation, and employment decisions; AI-related hiring fraud, fake applicants, and remote interview concerns; legal concerns around confidentiality, metadata, and AI-generated evidence; and management failures highlighted by viral Reddit workplace stories involving poor supervision, accommodations, and employee performance management. 

For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we've created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP254 

Media mentioned in this podcast:  

The JPMorgan Sexual Assault Lawsuit Was Already Messy. AI Is Making It Worse 

Reddit: Anyone Hire a Recruiter to Recruit Away a Problem 

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About our Guest: 

David Miklas owns a Labor & Employment law firm and for 27 years he has practiced all types of labor and employment law exclusively representing Florida employers. He has written hundreds of employment law articles, is the co-author for the premier legal textbook used by lawyers for Florida employment law, is a frequent employment law presenter and is a nationally recognized speaker and an invited guest lecturer addressing employment law and human resource issues with over thirty universities, including Harvard. Mr. Miklas graduated from the University of Florida College of Law. 

David Miklas can be reached at  

https://www.miklasemploymentlaw.com/  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-miklas-301861121/ 

About Mike Coffey: 

Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, business strategist, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher. 

In 1999, he founded

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