HR Brew // Morning Brew // Update

April 02, 2026

Hey there, HR pros. Everyone knows about your personal work email. But what about that Gmail address you created in 2008, which displays the alter ego you developed while pursuing a freestyle rap career?

You can now change that address to something more current without losing any of your data, Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently announced. (That said, don’t be ashamed if rapping never worked out…even Zohran Mamdani pursued that career before he became New York City mayor.)

In today’s edition:

The (career) path forward

Legislative lowdown

Comp change

—Adam DeRose, Courtney Vinopal, Courtney Vien

TECH

New Schoox

Getty Images

When Westgate Resorts expanded its portfolio through an acquisition in early 2025, the Orlando-based hospitality company’s learning and development team knew it would need to overhaul its training platform to address compliance and career pathwaying.

The company had assumed management of VI Resorts’ expansive portfolio across dozens of domestic and international destinations, from Mexico to Canada, from Florida to Hawaii. The move nearly tripled its footprint in the industry.

With more properties and employees, Westgate’s learning and development team figured it was the right time to move from paper records to a more robust training program that did more than check the box.

“The decision ultimately came after we wanted to also scale beyond compliance,” Stephanie Ketron, VP of learning and development at Westgate Resorts, said. “We wanted to start building career pathing and some of that beyond compliance. We tried in the system that we had...there were just a lot of limiting capabilities within that system, and it didn’t allow us to create very clear career paths.”

For more on how Westgate modernized its L&D system, keep reading here.—AD

Presented By Paycor

Let AI handle HR’s busywork

HR pros spend too much of their time on administrative tasks. That’s not strategy—that’s spreadsheets.

AI can take the busywork off your plate. Think automated time tracking, streamlined payroll, instant answers to repetitive employee questions, and smarter onboarding and workforce management.

From hire to retire, AI tools can save HR teams time, energy, and serious budget.

Early adopters are already pulling ahead, but smarter leaders know AI needs guardrails. Bias and data privacy concerns require the right framework before scaling.

The bottom line: AI isn’t replacing HR leaders—it’s clearing the clutter so you can focus on the work that actually requires a human touch.

COMPLIANCE

Legislative lowdown

Francis Scialabba

The Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking to increase the minimum wage levels employers must pay to foreign-born workers they’re hiring through visas such as the H-1B program and other labor certifications.

A proposed rule issued by the DOL on Mar. 26 would change the way prevailing wage levels for workers hired through such programs are calculated. The goal is to “help ensure that employers pay foreign workers wages that reflect the real market value of their labor, in addition to protecting the wages and job opportunities of American workers,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.

Here’s what HR leaders should know about the proposal, which is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to restrict employers’ ability to hire foreign-born talent.

For more on what the proposal means for HR, keep reading here.—CV

TOTAL REWARDS

Let’s keep it simple

Getty Images

Paul Atkins is ready to cut back executive compensation disclosures.

During February’s Texas A&M School of Law Corporate Law Symposium, the SEC chair’s remarks suggested that the agency was homing in on changes to Item 402 of Regulation S-K. Atkins reiterated his view that executive compensation disclosures have become costly and burdensome to prepare, and that they’re bloated with information that’s not valuable to investors. He called for “rationalizing, simplifying, and modernizing” Item 402 with “materiality as their North Star.”

But Atkins also singled out specific areas of Item 402—particularly pay-versus-performance disclosures and the treatment of security for executives as a perk—signaling they may become points of focus for the SEC in months to come.

For more on the future of executive compensation disclosures, keep reading on CFO Brew.—CV

Together With bSwift

What’s best for benefits? Meet Emma™, the AI intelligence layer built into the bswift benefits platform. Emma can connect enrollment, service, and administration to reduce friction and guide decisions. She’s designed to provide plan-specific answers, help employees choose coverage with confidence, and give HR teams insights without manual reporting. Get to know Emma.

WORK PERKS

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: More than one-quarter (27%) of US workers said they used AI agents on a weekly basis over the past year, compared to 22% of global employees. (PwC)

Quote: “They’re not even acknowledging us as actual employees, but they’re offering us $1,000 to talk about why we like ‘delivering smiles.’”—Jerome Sloss, an Amazon delivery driver, criticized the company’s decision to offer subcontractors cash prizes for sharing positive feedback about the e-commerce giant, even as the company argues it doesn’t directly employ these workers (Bloomberg)

Read: Oracle is planning to lay off thousands of workers as it racks up debt for building out AI infrastructure. (CNBC)

More HR, less admin. HR spends too much time on admin. AI automates time tracking, onboarding, and more, saving time and budget. With the right guardrails, HR can focus on the human work that matters.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

EVENT

That sounds like culture

Morning Brew Inc.

Allie Shulman is tuning the workplace like a perfectly curated playlist. As VP of People & Culture at SoundCloud, she’s focused on building environments where people want to work. Expect real talk on culture, retention, and how to keep your team from hitting skip.

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.

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Written by Adam DeRose, Courtney Vinopal, and Courtney Vien

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