What Employers Are Asking: May 2026
Practical answers to the questions employers are asking this month - EEO-1, Colorado AI Act, Form 5500, summer interns, and exempt-classification status.
Q: When does the EEO-1 reporting window open this year, and which workforce snapshot do we use?
The EEOC has not formally announced the 2026 filing window for the 2025 reporting year, but recent years have opened between April and June. Employers must report demographic data from one pay period that they choose between October 1 and December 31, 2025. The filing window typically runs six to eight weeks. Private employers with 100 or more employees must file; federal contractors are subject to a 50-employee threshold (with a $50,000 contract). Watch eeocdata.org for the announcement and ensure your HRIS reports race, ethnicity, sex, and the ten EEO-1 job categories accurately for your snapshot pay period.
Q: We use AI in hiring and have employees in Colorado. What do we need to do before June 30?
Colorado SB 24-205, the Anti-Discrimination in AI Law, takes effect June 30, 2026 (pushed back from February 1 by SB 25B-004). If you use any AI or algorithmic system to make or substantially influence consequential employment decisions - hiring, firing, pay, promotion, scheduling - you are a "deployer" under the Act. By the effective date you must have a written risk-management policy aligned with the NIST AI Risk Management Framework or another recognized framework, and you must complete an initial impact assessment within 90 days of the effective date. Start with an inventory of AI tools touching the employment lifecycle, then map each to whether it influences a consequential decision.
Q: Our 401(k) plan is calendar-year. What do we need to be doing in May for Form 5500?
The Form 5500 deadline is July 31, 2026, but the practical work happens in May and June. Confirm EFAST2 credentials for both the plan administrator and the authorized signer at efast.dol.gov. Reconcile your trustee's year-end statement to the participant counts and contributions you'll report. Check whether your participant count requires an independent auditor's report on Schedule H (the threshold is 100 or more participants with account balances at the start of the plan year). If you cannot meet July 31, file Form 5558 by July 31 to extend to October 15. Late-filing penalties under ERISA can exceed $2,700 per day.
Q: We're hiring summer interns. Can they be unpaid, and what wage and hour rules apply?
Under the Department of Labor's "primary beneficiary" test (the seven-factor test the DOL adopted in 2018), an unpaid internship is permitted only when the intern is the primary beneficiary of the relationship - meaning the work is closely tied to formal education, the intern receives academic credit or skill development, and the intern does not displace a paid worker. Most for-profit employer internships fail this test and the intern must be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (or higher state minimum wage where applicable). State-specific minimum wages range from $7.25 to over $17.00 per hour as of 2026. Treat paid interns as non-exempt employees for FLSA purposes unless they meet a specific exemption.
Q: We're reviewing exempt classifications. What's the current FLSA salary threshold?
The federal exempt salary threshold remains $684 per week ($35,568 per year) following the November 15, 2024 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that vacated the 2024 DOL final rule nationwide. The federal appeal is pending. The highly compensated employee threshold remains $107,432. Important: several states have higher thresholds you must meet for employees in those states - including California (two times the state minimum wage for full-time work, which works out to over $68,000 per year for most employers in 2026), New York (between $1,200 and $1,237.50 per week depending on county), Washington ($1,332.80 per week for small employers in 2026), and Colorado ($1,194.23 per week in 2026). For employees in those states, the state threshold controls. Use this period to validate that exempt employees actually satisfy the duties test for their claimed exemption - the duties test is where most reclassification risk lives.
This briefing is prepared by the AEA Editorial Team based on publicly available regulatory guidance and employment law developments. All analysis reflects general observations and should not be treated as legal advice. Consult qualified counsel for guidance on specific situations.