RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Illustration: Shannon May, Photos: Unsplash

A missing mustache was the tipoff that something was amiss.

A job candidate had sailed through the hiring process at people search engine and data broker Spokeo. They seemed so well-suited to the role that COO Harrison Tang recalls telling his team, “I hope this is not too good to be true.”

Spoiler alert: It was. Even worse, the candidate ended up being what Tang calls a “real fake,” or someone misrepresenting their identity. Hours after the new hire started the job, Spokeo fired them—in part, because it became clear that the person who interviewed for the role wasn’t the one who logged in to work.

“The person who onboarded, who got hired, during the orientation did not have a mustache,” Tang told Morning Brew. “But the person I interviewed looked like Mario.”

For more on how to fight back against fraudulent hires and deepfake applicants, keep reading here.—JG

      

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TOTAL REWARDS

Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photos: Getty Images

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is one of the youngest women’s professional sports leagues, having launched in 2025 with six teams. Despite that, it stands to teach more established employers a thing or two about leadership and benefits.

“We are, I guess, what they would call an ‘emerging league,’ a startup,” the league’s commissioner, Kim Ng, told HR Brew. “Every day is different, and every day you’re building something. The something could be one of 10 different disciplines. It could be marketing, sponsorship, broadcasting.”

Regardless of what the league is building, its players are key to making the operation a success, including when it comes to being seen as an attractive employer.

“We definitely want them (players) to feel like they are partners in this, and that they are founders of this league,” Ng said.

For more on how the AUSL seeks to support its employees, keep reading here.—KP

      

COMPLIANCE

Francis Scialabba

Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, recently passed a paid parental leave program. It’s the first such program to be passed at the county level in the US.

The law, which was passed by the county council, grants 12 weeks of paid leave to parents to bond with a new child. It applies to both birthing and non-birthing partners, and also extends to employees who have experienced a stillbirth, or had a child through adoption or foster care.

“Paid leave is not a luxury. Paid leave is NOT radical. It should be a floor,” Sara Innamorato, the Allegheny county executive, said in a statement. “And it’s good for all of us: stronger families, healthier babies, workers who stay in the workforce, and employers who keep their people.”

Employers with 15 or more employees will be required to give eligible workers paid leave under the new program, which will take effect over the next 6–12 months. Unlike other paid leave programs in the country—which are often funded by the employees themselves, or a combination of the employer and the employee—this program will be entirely funded by employers.

For more on what HR needs to know about this and other statutes affecting paid family leave programs, keep reading here.—CV

      

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work perks

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Just 15% of retirement plan sponsors currently offer alternative investment options, such as cryptocurrency or real estate, in their 401(k)s. Nearly one-quarter are planning to add alternatives to their lineup, though. (Morgan Stanley)

Quote: “The last three years have been pretty lean…I have had to really do things that I never thought I would do before just to keep that SAG insurance.”—Cheyenne Jackson, an actor, on why he and others in Hollywood are struggling to book enough work to maintain health insurance through the Screen Actors Guild union (the New York Times)

Read: Those Microsoft buyouts we mentioned yesterday? It appears they’re not one size fits all. Employees working in data centers, sales, marketing, cybersecurity, and quantum computing are among those not eligible for buyouts offered by the tech firm. (Bloomberg)

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Jobs

More focus, less fluff. CollabWORK filters out the noise and delivers jobs that actually match what HR Brew readers are looking for. Click here to see the full board of curated roles.

• HR Manager at Addison Group
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