November 12, 2026

Contract work is moving to the center of workforce plans, which is good news for staffing firms. The catch is a heavier compliance load, candidate fraud that’s harder to spot, and a legal risk that’s easy to overlook.

Democratic Midterm Wave Sets Up an Active Labor Policy Stretch

• Democrats captured 253 House seats and at least 54 Senate seats, plus at least five new governorships and six trifectas.
• Congressional Democrats will scrutinize the EEOC, DOL, and NLRB and reintroduce bills on minimum wage, noncompetes, and unions.
• Federal agencies largely stay their course, while Democratic-controlled states are expected to pass waves of new employment laws.

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Why a Hire-Day ID Check No Longer Protects Staffing Firms

• A one-time identity check leaves gaps as workers move across recruiters, platforms, payroll, and client systems.
• More than half of hiring professionals have seen candidate identity misrepresentation, and verification adoption among staffing firms rose 152% from 2023 to 2025.
• Firms should verify identity before screening, keep it linked to the worker record, and re-verify when risk changes.

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Contract Staffing Moves to the Center of Workforce Planning

• More than seven in 10 U.S. companies build contract workers into staffing strategies, and 80% of hiring managers expect future hires.
• More than four in 10 managers whose firms use contractors rely on them more than three years ago.
• Over half of job seekers have done contract work, with Gen Z and millennials the most interested.

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AI Reshapes Headcount Plans While Pay and Workflows Lag Behind

• Nearly three-quarters of organizations expect AI to impact headcount and hiring plans within the next 12 months.
• Over half of AI-fluent workers feel they should earn more, but only 16% got a raise after upskilling.
• More than six in 10 employees say AI saves up to 10 hours weekly, yet only 19% redirect that time to high-value work.

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Attorneys Warn Religious Discrimination Claims Are the Next Enforcement Frontier

• ABA conference attorneys expect a wave of religious discrimination claims over the next two years.
• Religious accommodation may become the basis to challenge bathroom and locker-room use as EEOC distances from LGBTQ+ claims.
• The nomination of Matthew Zandi would solidify a Republican EEOC majority, extending Chair Lucas’s agenda.

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