Think getting into the Ivy League is difficult? Try vying for an internship at United.

The airline giant has a highly competitive internship program. In 2024, it received 40,000 applications for just 300 slots—a 0.75% acceptance rate. That’s more selective than Goldman Sachs’ prestigious internship program, which accepted 0.85% of all applicants last year.

This year, United plans again to hire some 250 to 300 interns for its 12-week summer internship—a departure from competitors like Southwest that have paused hiring for some such roles. “Some of our competitors have decided to put their programs on hold. But our internship program is a strategic pipeline of talent for us,” Kate Gebo, United’s EVP of HR and labor relations, told HR Brew. “As our interns come in, that curiosity…and the enthusiasm they bring to our workforce at the same time is really important to our culture.”

Finding the crème de la crème. Finding top talent, however, may be trickier.

Keep reading here.—PM

Apple shareholders signaled they want the company to keep its DEI programming this week, in a small win for the future of DEI after a tumultuous two years.

What’s new? Shareholders voted during Apple’s Feb. 25 shareholder meeting to reject a National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) proposal that would have ended the company’s DEI initiatives, according to CNBC. Conservative NCPPR said that DEI poses a financial risk to Apple’s business, while the company called the proposal overreach, HR Brew previously reported.

Despite the vote of confidence in DEI, Apple CEO Tim Cook cautioned shareholders that some aspects of its programming may eventually change.

Uncertainty ahead. There’s been an almost constant push and pull over DEI initiatives, spurred by misleading rhetoric and loud detractors. As a result, at least 20 companies have changed their DEI practices.

Keep reading here.—KP

The acting general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rescinded a number of memos issued by the outgoing general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, amid a shakeup at the agency.

William B. Cowen was appointed to the general counsel role on Feb. 3, several days after President Donald Trump fired both Abruzzo and Gwynne Wilcox, a Democratic member of the NLRB.

On Feb. 14, Cowen rescinded a number of memos released in recent years by Abruzzo, a Biden appointee. Among the memos that are no longer in effect are those providing guidance on noncompete agreements, as well as a memo that said surveillance programs may interfere with workers’ right to organize.

What NLRB watchers should know. After conducting “a comprehensive review of active General Counsel Memoranda,” Cowen rescinded more than a dozen memoranda.

Keep reading here.—CV