HR News: “Reverse Discrimination” Claims and AI Litigation Risks with David Miklas

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  Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com.   If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.   About our Guest:  David Miklas owns a Labor &amp; 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 Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make well-informed decisions about the people they involve in their business. Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver &amp; Household Screening brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies. Imperative has been named a Best Places to Work, the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year, and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association.  Mike shares his insight from 25+ years of HR-entrepreneurship on the Good Morning, HR<