The workplace is full of surprises this week — and we've got all of it covered.

Peter Rahbar and Laura Brounstein dig into six stories at the intersection of work, law, and culture, from prediction markets to newsroom meltdowns to what your out-of-office message says about you.

Prediction platform Kalshi just announced it will require users to disclose their employer before placing bets in markets flagged for insider trading risk. A positive step — but will people be honest, and will other platforms follow suit?

Microshifting. The Wall Street Journal is calling it the next big workplace trend, but is it really just flexible hours with a rebrand? Peter and Laura break down when it works, when it doesn't, and why your best leverage for any scheduling accommodation is being someone your boss can trust.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon announced that general counsel Kathy Ruemmler — who was supposed to leave the firm this week following her links to Jeffrey Epstein — is now staying on as an adviser. And it turns out his own chief of staff raised objections. Peter and Laura ask the obvious question: what's the calculus here, and what message does it send?

At CBS News, Bari Weiss has reportedly barricaded herself in a key-card-only sixth-floor suite — physically separated from the staff she's supposed to be leading through one of the most turbulent moments in the network's history. Peter and Laura on why that move is a classic sign of weak leadership, and what to do when your boss starts going squirrely.

Out-of-office message philosophies: how much is too much? Two paragraphs on the importance of rest? Your bunion surgery? Just enough is just enough.

And finally: a federal judge in Massachusetts struck down the Trump administration's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, ruling it was effectively an unauthorized tax that only Congress has the power to impose. A win — but Peter explains why the real damage to America's talent pipeline goes far beyond any court ruling.

Subscribe for weekly conversations where law meets real life.
🎙️ Across the Bar drops every week wherever you get your podcasts.

This week on the Across the Bar Podcast, employment attorney Peter Rahbar and journalist Laura Brounstein break down a packed week in workplace news — from corporate transparency failures to what a Senate candidate's controversies teach us about background checks, to the AI spending reckoning hitting companies everywhere.

Microsoft is facing backlash after employee's questions the integrity of a recent employee survey. Employees noticed some questions missing, and they're not happy. Peter and Laura unpack what it means when employers control not just the answer, but the question.

The Graham Platner saga offers a surprisingly instructive lesson for anyone navigating a background check. Whether you're a Senate candidate or a C-suite hire, someone's going to ask about your skeletons — and who gets that information, how it's handled, and what happens when it leaks matters enormously. Peter walks through how to protect yourself, what to ask your prospective employer, and when to loop in an attorney before you say a word.

Uber blew through its entire 2026 AI budget in four months and has now capped employee spending at $1,500 per tool per month. What went wrong, who's responsible, and what should employers actually be doing to manage AI use before the bills spiral? Peter and Laura break it down.
AI isn't just costing money — it's eliminating the entry-level pipeline. Companies are demanding experience that new grads can't possibly have yet, and no one's filling that training gap. Peter and Laura talk about what that means for recent grads, what companies are risking long-term, and what smart job seekers should be doing right now.

And the Scott Pelley firing: Was it a blaze-of-glory exit? A wrongful termination? A little of both? Peter walks through the "for cause" legal framework, what Pelley's contract language likely said, and why this story might not be over yet.

Across the Bar is your weekly drink with a lawyer and a journalist. New episodes every week.
🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode.
📩 Questions? Find us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

It's a (sort of) America 250 edition of Across the Bar! 🇺🇸 Employment attorney Peter Rahbar and journalist Laura Brounstein break down a packed week of workplace stories — from a CIA gold heist to a $642 deli platter that cost JPMorgan millions.
⚖️ The Union Comeback Is Real — Unionized workers just hit 16.5 million, a jump of 463,000 in a year and the highest level in 16 years — even as employers pour $1.7B+ into anti-union efforts. Peter explains what the shift in worker-vs-employer power really signals, and why he's warning companies not to overplay their hand.
🏆 The CIA Gold Bar Guy — A senior CIA official allegedly faked his résumé for years, then walked off with $40M in gold bars, $2M in cash, and a pile of Rolexes. Laura and Peter use it as a jumping-off point for the real question: how much can you actually embellish on a résumé before it becomes a career-ending lie? Plus where salary-history laws stand now.
🥪 The JPMorgan "Salami" Case — A wealth manager who brought in a billion dollars was fired over a $642.50 expense his assistant mislabeled. He asked for $30M and won $4.25M in arbitration. Laura and Peter explain why theft is a bright-line issue for big employers — no matter how small the dollar amount or how high the performer.
🤝 Intern Survival Guide — Two listener questions: Should you join in on the office jokes? (Wait for the invite.) And how do you handle the Monday "how wasted were you" chatter without oversharing? Laura's got a trick — plus the cleanest embarrassing story of all time, straight from her White House internship.
📌 Follow-ups: A Google engineer arrested for an insider-info Polymarket scheme, and why every company needs a betting-markets policy — plus the AI meeting-recording trap.
Peter Rahbar is a New York-based employment attorney, workplace expert, and founder of The Rahbar Group and Laura Brounstein is an accomplished veteran journalist. Each week on Across the Bar, Peter and Laura Brounstein decode the headlines through the lens of your rights at work.
🎧 New episodes every week — subscribe so you never miss one.