Today's Human Resources Pulse
Lateral Associates Now Dominate Biglaw Hiring
In 2025, lateral‑hired attorneys accounted for roughly 48% of associate hires, overtaking new law‑school graduates for the first time. The shift reflects firms’ growing appetite for experienced talent amid heightened client demand and billing pressures, tightening the market for recent graduates.
Women in Federal Service Still Face Retirement Gaps
Women in federal service continue to lag behind men in retirement security despite the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Caregiving responsibilities and career breaks reduce creditable service years, leading to smaller pensions and lower Thrift Savings Plan balances. Organizations such as Federal Employed Women (FEW) and Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) advocate for policy changes, while recent legislation like the Women’s Retirement Protection Act seeks to narrow the gap. Understanding FERS rules, maximizing TSP matches, and planning for longevity are critical steps for female federal employees.
CVS Health Joins International Movement to Become Menopause Accredited
CVS Health has become the first U.S. company to receive a menopause‑friendly accreditation from consultancy Midovia. The program adds manager training, peer support, enhanced benefits, and clinician education to address menopause‑related health and productivity issues for its largely female workforce....
Littler Lounge: Unpacking the EU Pay Transparency Directive
Littler’s latest Lounge episode examines the EU Pay Transparency Directive as it takes shape across member states. The discussion outlines new recruiting disclosures, employee pay‑information rights, and varying reporting thresholds that firms must navigate. Hosts emphasize the need for precise...
SJC Affirms Whistleblower Protection for Employees Involved in the Wrongdoing They Report
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed that the state Whistleblower Act shields employees even when they are involved in the wrongdoing they report, as held in Galvin v. Roxbury Community College. Thomas Galvin, the college’s chief compliance officer, was terminated after...
My Colleague Does Numerology at Work. How Do I Avoid a Jackie O-Style Blow-Up?
An employee’s casual practice of numerology is causing discomfort among team members who view it as pseudoscience. The article advises managers to handle the issue privately, focusing on the behavior’s impact rather than the belief itself. It recommends open‑ended dialogue,...
The HirED Report Newsletter
The HirED Report is a new monthly newsletter targeting HR leaders in K‑12 education. It addresses the acute teacher shortage, burnout crisis, and shifting workforce expectations that make district HR a high‑stakes function. The brief promises zero‑fluff, actionable insights and...
Flexible Work Is Opening New Career Paths for Women, According to New Report
A new IWG report surveying over 2,000 UK female office workers finds that hybrid and flexible work arrangements are reshaping women’s career trajectories. Two‑thirds of respondents say hybrid work positively influences their careers, with the effect strongest among millennials and...
ActivTrak Study Finds AI Accelerating Work, Not Replacing It
ActivTrak’s 2026 State of the Workplace report, analyzing 443 million hours across 1,111 organizations, reveals AI usage soaring to 80% of employees and an eight‑fold rise in time spent on AI tools. Instead of shrinking workloads, AI is accelerating work speed...
Stop Glorifying Overtime; Commitment Isn’t Measured by Hours
When management says: "We value people who burn the midnight oil." They are glorifying the hustle. Staying late is treated as the ultimate sign of commitment. THE REALITY AND HOW TO PUSH BACK:
Episode 60 - Stop Loss Insurance: What Employers Should Know
In this episode, host Mike Stahl talks with Ryan Seamers, founder of Aegis Risk and a leading expert on self‑funded health plans and medical stop‑loss insurance. They discuss the 2026 stop‑loss renewal cycle, noting a sharp premium increase driven by...
$2.03 an Hour: Labor Dept. Finds Major Wage Violations at Warehouse
The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $1.08 million for 24 warehouse workers at Expresso Forwarding Inc. and its affiliate after uncovering pay rates as low as $2.03 per hour in Mexican pesos, breaching federal minimum‑wage and overtime rules. The settlement mandates...
Redesign Work with AI, Not Just Cut Jobs
Everyone’s asking the wrong question about AI and jobs. The issue isn’t what AI will replace. It’s how leaders will redesign work so humans and AI create outcomes neither could achieve alone. Companies that use AI to cut costs may...
How to Make Performance Evaluations More Accurate
Researchers at Binghamton University, led by Associate Professor Tiffany Keller Hansbrough, are using a $1 million U.S. Army grant to conduct five studies aimed at making performance evaluations more accurate. The team argues that vague, memory‑based questions encourage "gap‑filling" and produce...
Portland Community College Faculty and Staff Commence Historic Strike over Wages
Hundreds of faculty, staff, and students gathered at Portland Community College campuses to launch a historic strike over wages. Demonstrators at four sites, including the Cascade campus, carried signs demanding a living wage and cost‑of‑living adjustments. The strike follows nearly...
Guide Clients to Ambitious AI Futures, Not Cost Cuts
This: “Your customer knows even less about these models than you do. You need to start guiding them toward the most ambitious version of their future. If you're in an industry that really values its employee base, paint a picture...
Frequent Employer Questions About California’s Paid Sick Leave
California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act mandates paid sick leave for all employees, granting at least 24 hours of accrued leave and protecting workers from retaliation if adverse action follows leave within 30 days. Employers frequently ask how to prevent...
Federal AI Series: Training and the Workforce
Chad Tetreault, Zscaler’s Public Sector CTO for AI Strategy and Governance, outlined how federal agencies can modernize their AI workforce training. He argued that conventional classroom models lag behind AI’s rapid evolution, recommending "prompt‑athons" to democratize skill acquisition. Hands‑on, mission‑driven...
Atlassian CEO Cites AI Shift When Announcing Plan To Shed 1,600 Jobs
Atlassian announced it will eliminate 1,600 positions, about a tenth of its global workforce, as part of a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence. Founder Mike Cannon‑Brookes said AI is reshaping the skill mix required across the company, prompting the cuts....
ABC Supports Trump Administration’s Critical Improvements to Apprenticeship Programs
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration issued four new guidance documents aimed at improving registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs). Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) welcomed the changes, citing greater flexibility for sponsors, reduced regulatory burdens, and alignment with...
South Dakota Lawmakers Reject Mandatory E-Verify Checks of Worker Citizenship, Immigration Status
South Dakota Senate voted down House Bill 1209, which would have mandated employers with more than 25 staff to verify new hires through the federal E‑Verify system within ten days. The measure, originally passed by the House, faced amendments and...
‘Why Was My Raise only 3%?’ and Other Pay Questions Managers Must Be Able to Answer
HR leaders are urged to equip managers with concrete training and documentation for merit‑raise conversations, according to Salary.com’s Sean Luitjens. By providing office‑hour style sessions, one‑page compensation philosophies, and FAQ sheets, managers can answer why raises are modest, how budgets...
Family-Friendly Workplaces Are Great − But ‘Families of 1’ Get Ignored
Family‑friendly policies have expanded to support dual‑career couples and parents, but they still overlook the growing segment of single, childless workers. Today, 46% of U.S. adults are unmarried and 29% live alone, yet HR benefits remain rooted in amatonormative assumptions....
US Companies Say They Plan to Accelerate Global Hiring Despite Hurdles
Business leaders across North America and Europe intend to speed up global hiring, even as nearly half report severe difficulty attracting and retaining international talent. Employee engagement is a growing pain point, with 69% citing challenges such as turnover, cultural...
Record Uptake for Family-Friendly Factory Project
The Ethical Supply Chain Program (ESCP) announced a record uptake of its Family‑Friendly Factory initiative. Participation surged among apparel and textile manufacturers in China and Vietnam. The 2025 Worker Well‑Being Impact Report links the program to efforts to mitigate labour...
USA Oil, Gas Hiring Remains Disciplined
U.S. oil and gas hiring remains disciplined, with firms prioritizing margin protection over headcount expansion, according to Birmingham Group CEO Brian Binke. Companies focus on optimization, maintenance and targeted buildouts, adding talent only where it directly improves efficiency or reduces...
RemoFirst Integrates BambooHR to Improve Global Workforce Management
RemoFirst, an Employer of Record platform operating in over 185 countries, announced a new integration with BambooHR. The connector syncs employee records from BambooHR directly into RemoFirst, cutting manual data entry and speeding up onboarding. The self‑serve integration activates in...
How New Law Enforcement Pay Rates Affect Federal Retirees
The federal government introduced a 3.8% special pay increase for law‑enforcement personnel, while most other GS employees receive only a 1% raise. Retirees who left on December 31 may see their annual‑leave lump‑sum paid at the prior year’s salary, with a...
Your Associates Passed the Training. So Why Can't They Sell?
Retail training traditionally protects associates from failure, resulting in low on‑floor competence despite high completion rates from video and microlearning modules. The article argues that real skill development requires repeated attempts, specific feedback, and a non‑moving performance standard. SalesRX+ introduced...
Employment Tribunal Dismisses Ex-Google Employee’s "Boys’ Club” Claims
On 18 February 2026 an employment tribunal dismissed a former Google engineer’s claim that the company operated a “boys’ club” that disadvantaged women. The ex‑employee alleged gender bias, unequal pay and blocked promotions, but the tribunal concluded the evidence did...
L2 Brands Earns Fair Labor Accreditation
L2 Brands has been awarded Fair Labor Accreditation by the Fair Labor Association after a multi‑year review of its social‑compliance systems. The accreditation recognizes the company’s efforts to improve worker wellbeing across its supply chain, which includes 18 contract factories...
Networking Becoming More Important in Uncertain Job Market, But Job Seekers Struggle in a Digital World
A new Express Employment Professionals‑Harris Poll shows 82% of Canadian job seekers and 86% of hiring managers view networking as critical for landing roles, with 45% saying its importance has risen over the past decade. Respondents rely on a mix...
Equity Partnership Still Heavily Dominated by Men, SRA Data Shows
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s latest data shows women now comprise 55% of UK lawyers but only 35% of equity partners, with parity at salaried partner level (49%). Representation of disabled solicitors has risen to 8%, still well below the 17%...
Report: Hotel Labor Costs Rising Faster than Productivity Gains
HotelData’s 2025 Labor Costs & Trends report shows U.S. hotel wages rising sharply, with wage cost per occupied room (CPOR) climbing 12.8% year‑over‑year to $48.32. The acceleration intensified in Q4, where wage CPOR jumped 21.1% YoY, while hours per occupied...
American Airlines Flight Attendants Declare WAR on Chief Executive Robert Isom With Strike Regalia
Flight attendants at American Airlines, represented by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), have revived their strike‑ready red lanyards and pins to pressure CEO Robert Isom to step down after a recent vote of no confidence. The union’s “WAR”...
Job Opening at Canadian Running: Web Writer
Canadian Running, Canada’s leading endurance‑sports publication, is hiring a full‑time web writer. The role demands creating race coverage, gear reviews, nutrition pieces, personal stories and humor for a runner‑focused audience. Candidates must be proficient with WordPress, multimedia handling, and social...
BC Employment Law Changes Aim to Add Early Dispute Resolution Opportunities
British Columbia announced amendments to the Employment Standards Act and the Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act aimed at streamlining dispute resolution. The changes let the Employment Standards Branch use Unclaimed BC to recover unpaid wages faster and require employers to deposit...
NLRB Declines to Overrule Ex‑Cell‑O: What Employers Should Know
On February 26, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board denied a request to overturn the 1970 Ex‑Cell‑O decision, preserving the longstanding rule that limits remedies when an employer refuses to bargain during a test‑of‑certification. The Board, led by two Trump...
The Adecco Group to Scale Agentic AI with Salesforce
Adecco Group signed a multi‑year agreement with Salesforce for unlimited access to Agentforce 360 through 2027, enabling the company to scale agentic AI across its global operations. The partnership builds on a UK pilot that delivered 15 percent recruiter time savings and...
Screwfix Reaches Trade Apprentice Milestone in Drive to Tackle Skills Shortage
Screwfix has funded over 50 trade apprentices through its partnership with flexi‑job agency TrAC, aiming to curb the UK skills shortage. Since the 2022 launch, apprentices have been placed in plumbing, electrical, landscaping and decorating roles, with funding drawn from...
Neurodiversity: Better Training Is Needed for Managers
A recent Acas survey of 1,000 UK employees finds 35% view their employer’s training for managers on neurodiversity as ineffective, with another 18% rating it “very ineffective.” Only a third of respondents believe their organisations train managers adequately, while 32%...
Grant‑cutter Can't Define DEI, Relies on Blind AI
Ok let's talk about it: the DOGE bro responsible for cutting DEI grants can't explain what DEI is... in a deposition 💀 In case you missed it: he used ChatGPT to build a spreadsheet with a "Yes/No DEI" column. He didn't...
Algorithmic Management Demands Fairness, Transparency, and Accountability
#CIOChat Q3: Algorithmic management raises real leadership questions: fairness, transparency, escalation paths, and accountability when the system makes a bad call. What guardrails or governance models are you putting in place so algorithms guide work without undermining trust? https://t.co/PL1IMUxQJf
Confidence, Bias, and Opportunity: Lessons From Women Leaders in Tech Building the Future of AI and Work (International Women’s Day...
In this International Women’s Day special, host Dan Turchin interviews four women leaders—Charlene Lee, Daphne Jones, Patty Hatter, and Mona Sabay—about the systemic bias that slows women’s advancement in AI and tech. They share personal stories and data showing women...
Hire for Skills, Showcase AI Impact Metrics
If you're hiring: shift to skills- and outcomes-based hiring. If you're being hired: sharpen your AI story and metrics. #AI #CIO https://t.co/mIefOcbMM8
Women’s AI Network Evolves From Profiles to Momentum
Profiles were phase one. Momentum is phase two. 🚀 https://t.co/Ec08Cri2iv is the 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁-𝗶𝗻-𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 for women in AI. Not another feed. Not another directory. A 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 for the AI era. 🤖 Join us. Shape the 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜. ✨
Daimler Truck Cuts Employee Bonuses After Profit Decline
Daimler Truck announced a cut to its German profit‑sharing bonuses after a sharp earnings decline for the 2025 fiscal year. The payout drops from €4,140 to €2,701 per eligible employee, affecting roughly 25,000 workers. Consolidated net income fell to about...
Work‑From‑Home Benefits Attract Working Moms
Had no idea it’s National Working Moms Day, or that working moms even get a day. Regular reminder that the greatest needle mover for working mothers is working from home. Incentivize employers to offer work from home as a benefit...
Gig Drivers Face Shrinking Pay as Jobs Vanish
WHEN jobs START disappearing? A) Hail an @Uber or @lyft B) Ask driver how supply of new drivers has affected their take-home pay & working hours C) Ask why they didn't apply for unemployment benefits D) Circle back please PS) You'd have read about this...
Developing Employees Who Thrive Through Continuous Change
Gartner’s 2026 survey reveals employees endured ten organization‑wide strategy shifts in 2022, up from two in 2016, while willingness to support change fell from 74% to 43%. The article argues that leaders must redesign change programs so workers help shape...
HR Can’t Save Economy, But Can Boost Pay
HR can’t fix the economy. It can fix employee compensation @HR_Exec https://t.co/7hMoPbrFq8 #HCM #HRM #HumanResources #HRTech #CHRO #FutureofHR