The White House issued a sweeping executive order (EO) on artificial intelligence on Oct. 30, a first step toward regulating a technology that holds both promises and perils for the workforce.

The EO directs federal agencies to develop standards to ensure AI systems are “safe, secure, and trustworthy.” It will require some AI developers to share safety test results with the US government before their systems go public.

Recognizing that “AI is changing America’s jobs and workplaces,” the EO also calls for federal agencies to develop guidance to mitigate risks AI poses to workers, focusing on areas such as job displacement, workplace equity, and data collection and privacy.

Though the EO doesn’t include any policies that should impact HR pros’ day-to-day work right away, these principles and best practices, coupled with forthcoming reports on AI’s labor market effects, could inform how employers craft AI policies in the future.

Keep reading.—CV

Generative AI is swiftly changing the way we work, forcing business leaders to identify its potential impact on their organizations and reimagine their strategies in real time.

Explore how HR leaders are reimagining and modernizing the HR function to build and retain a workforce for the future and foster the innovation needed to meet broader strategic missions and objectives.

Learn the key three things every leader should know—and three things you can do to begin now.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new rule in October that will make it easier for two businesses to qualify as a joint-employer of a group of employees. If two companies are considered a joint-employer, they are then legally liable for one another’s actions—including unfair labor practices—and must bargain with unions representing the workers they oversee.

Here’s what HR should know about the rule, which is set to take effect before the end of the year but faces scrutiny from some pro-business groups and lawmakers.

Rule lowers threshold for joint-employer status. The new NLRB standard, which will take effect on Dec. 26, rescinds and replaces an April 2020 rule. The older rule made it easier for two companies to avoid joint-employer status, as it required both to exercise “substantial direct and immediate control” over essential terms and conditions of workers’ employment, the NLRB wrote in a recent fact sheet.

Under the new rule, two businesses may be considered a joint-employer if they “share or co-determine” at least one essential term and condition of employment as defined by the board, such as wages, benefits, and other compensation, work hours and scheduling, or employment tenure. This may be true regardless of whether that control is exercised, and regardless of whether it’s direct or indirect, per the NLRB.

Keep reading.—CV

While compensation remains a top priority for employees and job-seekers alike, well-being is also vital. Some 93% of workers view well-being as equally important to salary, according to a recent survey of 5,000 employees produced by corporate wellness platform Gympass.

Alli Ray, chief of staff at content and PR agency Codeword, shares how she elevates transparency within her organization to support worker well-being.

Increasingly, workers expect pay transparency, but also want to balance pay with well-being. How have you structured compensation at Codeword?

Codeword developed our pay transparency philosophy in 2021, so even before it was legally mandated. We wanted to publish our salary bands so that everyone at the company was able to chart their course and figure out what’s next for their career. No two careers are alike, and especially in the marketing and advertising world, it can be hard to figure out what you want as your next step. You have folks who are more focused on the soft benefits, like wanting more flexibility in their workday or remote/hybrid options, etc. Then you have folks that are chasing that bag, and we want to make sure that we’re giving people the information they need so they can build the career that they want, and that we’re doing everything we can to just support them along their journey.

How can other HR leaders be more transparent beyond compensation?

We really strived to have pay transparency be a meaningful benefit for our team and a standard for how we treat people. The leadership at the agency comes from a more traditional big agency background, and we realized that transparency is not a core factor that any of us experienced in a traditional big agency.

Keep reading.—MC

Artificial intelligence and a new era of human resources. HR departments are using AI tools to automate processes, enabling strategic decision-making in the new era of human resource management.

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Employer spending on wages and benefits ticked up by 4.5% in the third quarter from the previous year, down from a 5.1% increase YOY in the second quarter. (the Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “In a modern workforce, you should get regular check-ins. That’s just good practice. With Gen Z, working patterns have changed and they expect a certain level of interaction, whether it’s online or face-to-face.”—Mark Seemann, founder and CEO at StaffCircle, on the importance of manager feedback for Gen Z workers (WorkLife)

Read: Unionized workers for Ford, Stellantis, and GM reached tentative agreements with automakers that include a 25% pay raise over the next 4.5 years, as well as some protections related to EV transition. (the New York Times)

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