Over the weekend, U.S. employers reacted to the new administration’s executive order restricting entry to the United States by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. Starbucks pledged to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years in the 75 countries where it does business. Google announced that more than 100 of its employees are impacted by the order, and recalled its employees who were traveling abroad at the time the order was issued. Several other prominent technology companies, including Apple, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Uber, issued statements or messages to employees, treating the ban as an employment issue.

• Victoria Lipnic was appointed as acting chair of the EEOC.
• Two former employees of Wendy’s are suing a Wendy’s franchisee for sexual assault and harassment, alleging that a manager repeatedly groped workers, exposed himself, and threatened to have Mexican workers deported.
• Slate reported that the EEOC is considering withdrawing from a transgender discrimination case in the Sixth Circuit due to “Administration-related changes.”
• The Seventh Circuit court of appeals rejected the EEOC’s challenge to an employer wellness program requiring mandatory medical exams for employees.
• Harvard Business Review urged employers to focus on diversity and inclusion in local team practices in order to address gender bias in the workplace.

• Farhad Manjoo explained how investing in American robotics can help American workers.
• Silicon Valley is working on technology to help sedentary desk workers stay in shape.
• A new study of pay gaps in the tech industry revealed that women early in their careers earn 29% less than men of the same age.
• Tech Crunch examined how the legal system treats artificial intelligence.

• Employers in Japan are increasingly implementing four-day work weeks.
• SHRM reported on indications that incoming leaders at the Department of Labor will not fight the court order blocking the former administration’s new overtime rule.