When it comes to wages, for many employees the bare minimum is no longer enough.

In light of heightened concerns around inflation and financial security, some companies have started to shift their focus from the minimum wage to a “living wage,” defined by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Institute as the amount a full-time worker must earn “to help cover the cost of their family’s minimum basic needs where they live while still being self-sufficient.” L’Oreal, Unilever, and Michelin are among the global organizations that have committed to paying their workers a living wage.

A large share of workers in the US still don’t earn a living wage, according to data recently published by Dayforce and the Living Wage Institute. The research found just 56% of full-time US workers earn a living wage, with stark disparities among women and workers of color. Half of full-time female workers do not earn a living wage, while 60% of Black and Hispanic or Latino workers aren’t earning enough to pay for their family’s basic needs.

How HR can address concerns about the living wage. Given the potential impact of inadequate wages on employee well-being, employers could benefit from analyzing living wage trends among their workforces.

Keep reading here.—CV

The share of corporate board directors with CHRO experience is growing. And increasingly, the work of HR leaders is intersecting with the concerns of corporate boards.

At least that’s the view of Francis deSouza, a former board member at Disney and the cloud-computing firm Citrix, as well as a co-founder of SynthLabs, which seeks to help companies roll out AI safely at their organizations.

DeSouza described what he sees as a “golden era for HR” at a September event hosted by compliance and payroll startup Deel, which recently elected him to its board. This new era will be characterized by increasingly global, distributed companies that place a premium on their people, deSouza predicted, meaning more board discussions will revolve around “the ability to keep talent, the ability to access talent from anywhere in the world.”

“I think the percentage of time in board sessions that are led by HR are just going to keep going up,” he added.

Keep reading here.—CV

Workers in Maryland who are exposed to temperatures of 80 degrees or higher are entitled to protections such as rest breaks, access to drinking water, and shade under a new heat standard that went into effect on Sept. 30.

States seek to beat the heat. Maryland joins other states including California, Minnesota, and Oregon in adopting heat protections for workers. Under the new standard, Maryland employers whose employees are exposed to the 80-degree temperature threshold must monitor the heat index throughout workers’ shifts, as well as develop and implement a written plan to prevent and manage heat-related illness. They must provide exposed employees access to shade, as well as at least 32 ounces of water per hour.

Covered employers must also develop acclimatization schedules that allow workers to gradually increase their exposure to the heat over a period of up to 14 days, either when they’re newly exposed or returning to work after being absent for a week or more. OSHA estimates at least half of outdoor workplace fatalities occur in workers’ first few days of working in warm or hot environments, as they aren’t given time to build up a tolerance to the heat.

The obligations Maryland employers must follow increase as the temperature does.

Keep reading here.—CV