New Secretary of Labor nominated: President Donald Trump's chosen nominee for secretary of labor has already been overseeing the U.S. Department of Labor as it returns to wage and hour policies from the president's first term, and observers said they expect him to maintain that approach. Keith Sonderling has been serving since April as acting secretary.  Sonderling has also been helping lead the agency since March 2025, when the U.S. Senate confirmed him as deputy labor secretary. While the labor secretary is the face of the agency, the deputy secretary is considered a chief operating officer who works with subagencies like the Wage and Hour Division to craft policy.  Previously, he was acting Wage and Hour Administrator and EEOC Commissioner.  With Sonderling in DOL leadership over the past year, the Wage and Hour Division has relaunched its opinion letter program that responds to requests for subregulatory guidance from businesses and workers. Opinion letters have been a particular area of interest for Sonderling. Another priority that returned under the current administration and that Sonderling allies credit to him is the Payroll Audit Independent Determination, or PAID, program. This enables employers to voluntarily report violations to potentially avoid litigation and liquidated damages. Mr. Sonderling is a great choice for the role.  Source: Law360 6/30/26

Changes coming for Michigan UIA in July: Various changes are coming to UIA this month.  First, work search requirements increase to three work search activities per week from one (Effective July 19).  Second, domestic violence protection added: Workers who leave employment due to domestic violence will not be disqualified from benefits. (Effective July 17).  Third, appeals process streamlined: Multiple approved issues can be combined into one hearing, reducing duplicate proceedings. (Effective July 17).  Fourth, more access to hardship waivers: Claimants can apply for up to four hardship waivers per year (up from two). UIA will not count unemployment benefits as household income when reviewing eligibility. (Effective July 17).  Finally, beginning the week of July 19, the allowable reduction in employee working hours for employers with an approved Work Share plan will expand from the current range of 15 percent to 45 percent to a new range of 10 percent to 60 percent.  Source: SBAM 6/29/26, The Catalyst 6/29/26

Are your applicants Doomjobbing? Doomjobbing is a widespread phenomenon that the AI world exacerbates.  “Doomjobbing is a high-volume, fast-paced application strategy where candidates apply to numerous roles in rapid succession with minimal vetting,” according to Monster. “In many cases, this behavior stems from the frustrations of a prolonged search, lack of employer feedback, and uncertainty around what truly captures a recruiter’s attention.” In this scenario, more than 4 in 10 job seekers apply to four or more jobs per search session. Sixteen percent of job candidates spend less than 30 seconds reviewing postings; 16% spend between 30 seconds and one minute; 26% spend from one to three minutes; 20% spend between three and five minutes; and only 22% spend more than five minutes. Nearly half admit they apply to jobs without reading the full job description. Why do it? Volume is a core strategy. Forty-seven percent balance quantity and fit, one-third focus on strong matches, and 21% prioritize applying to as many roles as possible. Prescreening by a human touch will be more important today than in the past to weed out candidates.  Source: HR Executive 6/18/26

HR predicts new entry level jobs because of AI: Although AI has proven to automate some of the lowest-value work, making it difficult for recent graduates to find jobs, new Cognizant and Pearson joint research suggests this could just be a temporary effect that could all be about to change, with an overwhelming majority (94%) of HR leaders expecting AI to create entirely new entry-level jobs in the next five years. The definition of entry-level work is also undergoing a change, with 96% believing they will evolve into supervisory and managerial roles. More than 90% say middle managers will end up playing a critical role in redesigning these jobs and defining what work looks like. A similarly high number (91%) of HR leaders have reported that employee demand for AI training has increased over the past year as junior workers seek opportunities to manage AI systems, however with only half (54%) of organizations providing AI training, they're not being supported.  As for graduates themselves, the most in-demand skills no longer come from specialized degrees. Nearly all (97%) hirers think adaptability, problem-solving and human judgment are now more important.  Source: Techradar 6/22/26

Even if AI causes layoffs, rehiring comes soon after: Among organizations that conducted AI-driven layoffs, a new study from HR solutions platform Careerminds revealed that 32.7% have already rehired between 25% and 50% of the roles they initially eliminated. For those that eliminated roles altogether to make room for AI, 35.6% said they had to bring back more than half of those positions. Most affected by these decisions are managers, whose jobs are often the first to go despite their importance. Already several major tech companies have reduced management layers as they invest more heavily in AI. Amazon eliminated roughly 14,000 corporate jobs in 2025 — nearly 4% of its white-collar workforce. Meta recently cut thousands of positions, with software engineering managers and other mid-level roles accounting for about one-third of the reductions. Meanwhile, Coinbase laid off 14% of its workforce and moved away from "pure manager" roles in favor of teams where individual contributors work more directly alongside AI agents. Despite many organizations attempting to right their wrongs by rehiring for those roles and reinstating certain positions, in most cases the damage is already done and the trust managers had in leadership is broken. Losing that relationship could jeopardize the longevity of any organization if they can't convince qualified talent to return.  Source: EBN 6/24/26

New verification requirement for HR: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an interim final rule requiring certain Medicaid enrollees to complete 80 hours per month of work, education, or community service to keep their coverage. States have not yet specified exactly how they’ll verify compliance. Still, similar work-requirement programs have historically relied on employer-provided data, suggesting HR and payroll teams should prepare for similar requests.  The rule applies to non-pregnant adults ages 19 to 64 who are not enrolled in Medicare and are eligible for or enrolled in the Medicaid adult group. States must implement the requirement by Jan. 1, 2027, though Nebraska has already moved ahead of that deadline. For HR leaders, the rule does not create a new direct employer mandate. It does establish a new category of third-party verification work that may land on payroll and HR service desks, particularly in industries with large hourly or part-time workforces.  States must verify compliance at application, at renewal and (at their option) more frequently between renewals. Enrollees can meet the requirement through hours worked or through earnings, specifically income equal to at least 80 times the federal minimum wage, or $580 per month in 2026. That dual standard means states may request either timesheets or pay documentation, and HR teams should expect both types of inquiries.  Source:  HR Executive 6/23/26