Congress is gearing up to go on summer break, and this year isn’t shaping up to be much more productive than the last. A myriad of labor and employment bills have been introduced in Washington, DC, over the past year, including legislation that would mandate IRA enrollment and a bill that would invalidate forced arbitration clauses in age discrimination lawsuits. But for now, none of these proposals have made it as far as President Biden’s desk.

We checked in on where lawmakers stand on three major policy areas that affect HR pros’ work: paid leave, workforce development, and worker organizing.

Paid family leave. It has been more than 30 years since the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed, mandating 12 weeks of unpaid leave for employees to bond with a new child or care for a loved one. Lawmakers have been trying unsuccessfully to pass something more robust—and paid—for more than a decade.

At the end of last year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers renewed these efforts, HR Brew reported in January.

Keep reading here.—CV

In fact, 27% of employees are at high risk of burnout, according to insights from a Workday Peakon Employee Voice report. It’s a tough reality: People are feeling exhausted, and that’s not good for anyone—your teams, your biz, the world at large.

Fortunately, Workday’s here to help. Their Workday Voice of the Employee report is packed with super-compelling info on the causes of burnout, why to address it, and the value of taking data-driven approaches to employee health and well-being.

Here’s the bottom line: To stop the burnout risk-doom loop, you gotta close the gap between execs and workers. How to do it? Peep the report and start leveraging data to better understand exactly what your employees need and want.

Put an end to burnout.

No cap: It’s pretty cheugy if companies don’t rethink their HR strategies for Gen Z.

And brushing up on their slang could be a good place to start, especially since Gen Z is on track to overtake Baby Boomers in the full-time workforce this year, according to Glassdoor’s 2024 Workplace Trends report.

Meredith Graham, chief people officer at IT consultancy Ensono, shared with HR Brew how the rise of Gen Z is impacting her company, and how she’s rethinking recruitment and retention as a result.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What are some key trends you’ve seen among Gen Z workers?

Gen Z is just very interested in innovation and also coming into a company where their values are aligned with the values of the company. So, I feel that Gen Z is much more purpose-driven than the other groups, the older groups. So, when they’re looking at companies, they want to make sure that their values are aligned, and a lot of the time, that means that [companies] are doing some sort of good and giving back to communities.

Keep reading here.—MC

What makes for a great conversation—especially within the recruiting experience? The right context. And this is where generative AI can help take a solid convo and turn it into a stellar one. Paradox AI discusses the link between great conversation, generative AI, and how the latter can help elevate the former. Register today.