Federal contractor minimum wage increasing: The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has announced the minimum wage rate for federal contractors performing work on federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors (the order). Effective May 11, 2026, the minimum wage rate will increase to $13.65 per hour, while the rate paid to tipped employees will increase to $9.55 per hour. These rates apply to certain types of federal contracts entered into between January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, that were not renewed or extended on or after January 30, 2022. Executive Order 14026, which established a higher minimum wage for federal contractors working on contracts entered into on or after January 30, 2022, is no longer being enforced.  Therefore, minimum wage for federal contractors entered on January 30, 2022, or after reverts to current federal or state minimum wage.  Source: Notice, Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, February 9, 2026.

Affinity program for women subject of an EEOC lawsuit: According to the EEOC's complaint, Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast privately invited just female employees to the retreat, excused them from their normal duties during the event, and still paid them their regular salary. Hotel rooms and meals were covered, and the event had networking opportunities, as there were social activities and remarks from corporate executives, the EEOC said.  "In the Coca-Cola matter, the EEOC's focus was really on the differential benefits that the female employees received that the male employees were not eligible to receive," Lauri Rasnick, a member at Epstein Becker Green said. "They kind of stripped it down to some of the most elemental features of what a benefit could be." In addition, by firing off its first suit based on an affinity-type program — a corporate retreat that appears in the complaint to have been focused on women in the workforce — experts said the suit also hints that the agency is using a wide lens in its examination of DEI efforts.  Source: Law360 2/20/26

Parent PLUS loans no longer eligible for income-based repayment plans: On April 1, 2026, the Department of Education begins the process of phasing out Parent PLUS' eligibility for income-based plans. For employees, missing the remaining window of time can permanently cut off access to more affordable payments, putting them at risk of lasting financial complications. The responsibility of educating and assisting employees through the legislative changes and supporting them through their student loan repayment goals will fall on benefit leaders. Parent PLUS loans are federal student loans that parents take out to help pay for a child's college expenses. Historically, these loans weren't directly eligible for income‑driven repayment plans. But according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consolidating those loans once or twice bypasses the Parent PLUS restrictions and allows enrollment in more flexible repayment options, a pathway many working parents take. However, the Department of Education has now declared this practice illegal and is urging borrowers to consolidate any remaining debt by April if they want lower monthly payments before the hard deadline on July 1, 2026, when the loans will be permanently flagged as Parent PLUS.  Source: EBN 3/17/26

Do you offer heartbreak leave? Zety recently released a Heartbreak Leave Report that found that 1 in 3 workers think their companies should offer formal time off to deal with a breakup.  “While the concept of ‘heartbreak leave’ – formal days off to recover from romantic loss – may sound unconventional, the data suggests employees are already taking time off after breakups, just quietly and without support,” Jasmine Escalera, a career expert, writes in the report. Of the 1,020 U.S. employees surveyed, 43% said a breakup negatively affected their productivity or their ability to focus, and 17% said it hurt their relationships with co-workers or managers.  If a company were to offer heartbreak leave, 43% of workers say they would likely use it, but 65% of employees said they would worry about judgment for doing so. 40% of workers said they would need at least three days of PTO following a breakup to recover, Zety found. Beyond actual time off, employees also said being offered remote workdays, flexible hours, fewer check-ins or meetings and adjusted deadlines or workloads would be helpful. Source: HR Dive 2/10/26

Work from office costs employees: A new analysis by MyPerfectResume found that, on average, U.S. workers spend 223 hours every year commuting to an office. That translates to about six unpaid 40-hour workweeks. Factoring in the average hourly wage nationwide, that lost time translates to about $8,158 annually per employee. So, when workers who were previously remote have to shift into full-time, in-person reporting, they’re not just losing flexibility, but also valuable time. And that isn’t going unnoticed, says Jasmine Escalera, career expert at MyPerfectResume. It’s a reality complicated by today’s economic picture. According to MyPerfectResume’s research, nearly three-quarters of American workers currently rely on secondary income – such as part-time or gig work – to make ends meet. When they’re losing even more time and money commuting to their primary job, their financial picture becomes even more daunting.  As mandatory return-to-office continues to gain steam, the individual impacts on productivity and performance could snowball, creating a ripple effect that harms an organization’s long-term talent strategy.  The value of employees’ time is an issue that HR must raise from the very start of discussions about return-to-office, Escalera says.  Source: HR Executive 2/23/26