The Department of Justice (DOJ) wants your employees to blow the whistle on their workplace, and it’s willing to offer a big payout, depending on the outcome.

Under a new pilot program that started August 1, the DOJ is offering compensation to whistleblowers whose tips result in a successful prosecution. The program covers a certain set of corporate crimes, ranging from domestic and foreign corruption to healthcare fraud.

While whistleblowers can submit their complaints directly to the DOJ, the agency has said it wants to “encourage employees to report misconduct internally” before going to the government, and that doing so may actually increase their monetary award. Corporate leaders are being encouraged to go to the DOJ with information about wrongdoing before their workers do, the Washington Post reported. “Company leadership must grapple with the increased possibility that if they don’t self-disclose, an individual whistleblower might beat them to the punch,” Lisa Monaco, US deputy attorney general, told reporters.

This is where internal compliance programs—in some cases, facilitated with the help of HR pros—come in.

Keep reading here.—CV

But to make that future a reality, a simpler, faster, and more human approach to hiring needs to happen today.

Don’t miss Indeed FutureWorks this Sept. 26 to hear unique perspectives on better hiring from the likes of Trevor Noah (yes, you read that right), Indra Nooyi (former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo), and other thought leaders in the space.

Throughout the deeply educational and interactive event, you’ll learn how to apply skills-first hiring to reach and retain untapped talent pools, discover new AI tools to help you solve your current challenges, and much more.

Claim your free virtual ticket.

The UK lost more than an estimated £100 billion ($129 billion) in productivity in 2023 due to employee sickness, according to a recent report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a London-based think tank.

Where in the world? The number of people living with major illness in the UK is predicted to grow by 2040, in part due to long Covid and indirect pandemic-related health outcomes.

The cost of lost productivity in 2023 had risen by £30 million since 2018 in the UK, with £25 billion due to lower productivity from employees working while sick, also known as presenteeism. UK workers are losing up to 44 days of productivity because of presenteeism, a 9-day increase since 2018. Workers engaging in presenteeism tend to make more mistakes and work more slowly, and it can also diminish their ability to recover, the report noted.

The report stated that workplaces must do more to ensure employee health for the betterment of the economy, and encouraged employers to take an empathetic approach to employee wellness.

Keep reading here.—KP

The hunt for talent is still going strong, a Personiv survey of finance and accounting leaders shows.

More than 8 in 10 (83%) of the 278 finance and accounting leaders who took part in the talent-outsourcing firm’s 2024 CFO Pulse survey said there’s a shortage of accounting talent, compared with 70% who said the same in 2022 and 63% in 2020. However, only 10% of those who said there’s a talent shortage said the problem is worsening.

Respondents had an average of two open accounting roles in their organizations, with some reporting up to five openings. A quarter of respondents said they anticipate needing to hire a staff accountant in the next 12 months, and 20% said the same about senior accountants. Senior leadership said the role of staff accountant was the easiest to fill and controller was the hardest. Nine in 10 CFOs said they outsource at least some accounting functions.

Reeling them in. Survey respondents provided an array of factors they felt were crucial for luring in new accounting talent.

Keep reading on CFO Brew.—AZ

Rise above the deluge. Feeling swamped by administrative requests from employees? Paylocity says it’s time to invest in an employee self-service (ESS) portal. Their new blog post has all the info on how ESS portals can streamline your HR game and boost employee engagement. Give it a read.