Selectivity Cools Job Market, ADA Lawsuits Increase, Trust in AI Accuracy Wanes

Hey everybody, it's Gene Marks, and welcome back to another episode of the Paychex THRIVE Week in Review. This is where we take a few items of news that impact both you and I as business owners during the past week, and we talk a little bit about them.

Before we get started, I want you to know that if you need any help in your HR department, Paychex can do just that. They provide HR services that are outsourced that can help you do the job. that you're probably spending too much time on already.

If you would like help with your HR services and it's not just payroll, go to paychex.com/meetpaychex. That's P-A-Y-C-H-E-X dot-com forward slash M-E-E-T P-A-Y-C-H-E-X. All right, let's go to the news, shall we?

The first news actually comes from Paychex, and also a company called Homebase. They both recently released some employment reports regarding how jobs are going in the U.S. Now, last week, the Department of Labor had a very strong employment report showing a lot of jobs – about 170,000 jobs approximately – added into the economy, which took a lot of economists by surprise.

But what about companies with real data like Paychex? What are they showing? Well, they're showing something kind of similar. Recent data from both Paychex and Homebase points to a cooling, but still resilient small business labor market. Paychex's employment watch shows job growth moderating with hourly earnings stabilizing over several years of rapid increases.

Meanwhile, data from Homebase, which is focused on hourly workers in sectors like retail and hospitality, indicated continuing hiring activity, but with reduced hours worked and slower wage gains. So, very, very similar results.

Small businesses appear to be adjusting to economic uncertainty by tightening labor costs rather than cutting headcounts outright. Scheduling flexibility and cautious hiring are replacing aggressive expansion. The reports also highlight ongoing challenges, difficulty finding qualified workers persists, of course, but demand is no longer as overheated as it was in prior years.

Overall, the combined data suggests a transition phase. Small businesses are still hiring, but more selectively, balancing labor needs against cost pressures and an uncertain economic outlook. All of that makes complete sense to me as a business owner when I can report on what most of my clients are doing.

You know, people are still actively looking for the right employees and skilled workers, but not as aggressively as they were before. People are also keeping an eye out on what AI will impact our business. I'll be talking about AI soon. But right now, that's not really having an impact from at least my standpoint on small business hiring.

The economy continues to move along, and as both Paychex and Homebase have said, small businesses who contribute more than half or approximately half of the workers in this country continue to do their hiring. So, that's good news I think overall for the economy.

The next bit of news comes from Yahoo. This is a report about the American Disabilities Act. Accessibility-related lawsuits surged 37% in 2025, underscoring increased legal exposure for businesses particularly around website compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The rise reflects heightened scrutiny of digital accessibility as more consumers and advocacy groups take legal action against companies whose websites or apps are not usable by people with disabilities.

Now, we've reported on this before on this podcast, and I wanted to make sure that we are revisiting this topic because it's very important. Most of these lawsuits are targeting issues such as lack of screen reader compatibility, poor navigation and missing alt-text for images. Small and mid-sized businesses are especially vulnerable because they often lack the resources or awareness to ensure compliance.

Legal experts warn that the trend is unlikely to slow as accessibility standards continue to evolve and enforcement intensifies. For business owners, the takeaway is clear; The accessibility is no longer optional. Proactive audits, website updates, and compliance strategies are becoming essential not just for inclusivity, but for avoiding costly litigation.

Everyone, I am telling you right now there is a cottage industry of attorneys that are out there that are suing small business owners or threatening lawsuits to them because they're discovering that their websites, for example, are not ADA compliant. And there's a lot of things that you need to know to make your website ADA compliant, and for the most part, most small business owners are not paying that much attention to this issue and it's becoming a bigger and bigger issue.

So, my advice to you is to talk to your webmaster or whoever is designing your website. Make sure you get up to ADA compliance, or even having a chat bot like ChatGPT or Claude or, you know, your Gemini or Copilot or Grok look at your website and suggest ways – point out ways – that it's not ADA compliant. Then, bring on somebody to fix them.

You're going to get a letter from an attorney threatening you, and like many business owners you might wind up settling for thousands of dollars to avoid a costly lawsuit. It's something I'm seeing a lot happen nowadays. Now, I want to make sure that we re-emphasize that story because it is big, big news.

All right, in this week's AI news, more Americans are using AI, but trust in its results is declining. This comes from a report on techcrunch.com. A new poll highlighted by TechCrunch reveals growing paradox in AI adoption. More Americans are using AI tools, but fewer trust the accuracy of their outputs. The survey shows widespread usage across tasks like writing, research, and productivity, but skepticism is increasing as users encounter errors, hallucinations, and inconsistent results.

While AI is becoming embedded in everyday workflows, confidence hasn't kept pace. Many respondents say they double-check outputs or limit AI to low-risk tasks. Concerns about misinformation, bias, and lack of transparency are driving hesitation, especially in professional or high-stakes settings.

For businesses, this presents both an opportunity and a warning. AI adoption is accelerating, but trust remains fragile. Companies deploying AI tools must focus on validation, human oversight, and clear communication about limitations. The technology is gaining traction, but the report finds that credibility will determine how far and how fast it ultimately goes.

One thing to point out that the report did not mention; Privacy and security, as well, is also a major concern among at least my clients that are adopting or using more and more AI in their businesses. They're concerned about their corporate data that they're uploading to these cloud-based AI applications, and what happens to it.

I can tell you this much; It ain't 100% safe and it's not 100% private no matter what big tech will tell you, but it's a risk-and-reward decision whether or not you think it's worth taking the risk with your data to get the reward of getting better productivity.

The bottom line is that AI, like anything else, it's got some room to grow and needs some time to mature. No one should be relying on the results from an AI application 100%. But, having said that, there is a lot to be said for having a great AI application to provide more insights and advice and strategies for you as an expert advisor. And really in the end, what expert advisor is 100 percent accurate anyway.

So, use your AI chatbot, step up, get that business version of it, the pro version of ChatGPT, Claude, Co-pilot, Gemini, Grok, whatever you're using, Perplexity. You know, dig into it, use it, lean on it, but don't rely 100% on it. Always check and validate the facts as AI is giving you because it's still proven that it's not 100% right.

My name is Gene Marks, and you have been watching or listening to this week's episode of the Paychex THRIVE Week in Review. If you would like tips or help in running your business, please sign up for our Paychex Thrive newsletter. Go to paychex.com/thrive.

If you would like some help with HR in your business – and who doesn't? – go to paychex.com/meetpaychex. That's P-A-Y-C-H-E-X dot-com forward slash M-E-E-T-P-A-Y-C-H-E-X.

Again, this is Gene Marks. We'll be back with you next week with a few items in the news that impact your business and a little discussion about those items. Thanks for joining. We'll see you then.

Do you have a topic or a guest that you would like to hear on THRIVE? Please let us know. Visit payx.me/thrivetopics and send us your ideas or matters of interest. Also, if your business is looking to simplify your HR payroll benefits or insurance services, see how Paychex can help. Visit the resource hub at paychex.com/worx. That's W-O-R-X. Paychex can help manage those complexities while you focus on all the ways you want your business to thrive.

I'm your host, Gene Marks, and thanks for joining us.

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