September 10, 2026

Presented By

Hello there! One of the many unfortunate knock-on effects of France’s hottest summer ever is that wine production dropped precipitously. The Champagne region was hardest-hit, according to recent government data that shows output of the bubbly beverage halved over the last year.

Companies with big Champagne drinkers might consider a “party like it’s 1957” theme for this year’s holiday party—referring to the last year France’s Champagne harvest was this bad.

In today’s edition:

🎬 Take two

💸 Waning wages

⚖️ Legislative lowdown

—Kristen Parisi, Paige McGlauflin, Courtney Vinopal

DEI

A new path forward

Illustration of a brain divided into sections, each shaded a different color.

Cameron Abbas

SAP began its neuroinclusion journey more than a decade ago, as conversations around and understanding of Autism grew.

But earlier this year, the company changed course and began to implement a broader framework for neurodiversity that goes beyond Autism, to include people who have ADHD, dyslexia, and sensory processing disorder, too.

SAP launched its global Autism at Work program in 2013, when an estimated 85% of Autistic adults were unemployed and the world was just beginning to understand how much they could add to the workforce, the Wall Street Journal wrote at the time. But 13 years later, as knowledge of neurodiversity has expanded and evolved, SAP realized that its program was outdated, Rashmi Verma, chief inclusion and social impact officer, told HR Brew.

“We kept in touch with our employees,” Verma said, adding that the company checked in with its Autism employee network group (ENG) to understand what the community needed. “Neurodiversity [has] its own broad spectrum of dimensions.”

For more on how SAP has evolved its approach to neuroinclusion, keep reading here.—KP

Sponsored By LHH

Salaries are shifting—peep the latest

You’re workforce planning, trying to stay ahead of talent recruiting and retention trends, which probably means you need to take a look at the salaries you’re offering.

Yep, all roads lead back to the salary, and LHH’s data can help illuminate this pivotal benchmark for your org.

Their 2027 Salary Guide outlines global salary trends for LHH Recruitment Solutions. Skills gaps are widening, and AI is trying to rewrite the rules of work. The Salary Guide gives you data-backed benchmarks and actionable insights—across industries and regions—so you can build a workforce strategy that lasts.

And data is just the starting point. LHH Recruitment Solutions delivers interim, permanent, and executive talent across functions and levels.

Don’t just know the market. Hire for it.

TOTAL REWARDS

One grows, the other slows

Getty Images

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) August jobs report delivered an unexpectedly positive signal for the job market, as employers reported far higher than expected job gains of 162,000, and labor force participation rose after falling for eight months straight. While August’s jobs data was largely positive, there was one area that wasn’t so bright for workers: wages.

In-waged. Average hourly earnings in August rose just 3.1% over the prior 12 months to $37.75, the BLS reported in its latest employment situation data, released on Friday. With annual wage growth in July also declining to 3.2% from 3.4% in June, this summer marks the lowest annual average wage growth since mid-2021, when the US was emerging from the Covid-19 recession and on its way to the “Great Resignation.” Wages have also continued to lag behind inflation, which was up 3.4% over the last 12 months in July, and is currently projected to be about the same for August and September.

“Slowing wage growth adds insult to injury at a time when inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Higher energy prices are taking larger and larger bites out of paychecks,” Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, wrote on LinkedIn.

Looking ahead. That could change. Job openings have recently risen month over month, signaling employers’ intent to hire, and payroll gains of 162,000 and rising labor force participation in August suggest that workers are taking employers up on these new opportunities. Should workers continue to not see meaningful pay bumps, they might start looking elsewhere.

For more on how slowing wage growth could affect HR, keep reading here.—PM

COMPLIANCE

Legislative lowdown

Francis Scialabba

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently voted to advance a proposed rule that would transform the process federal employees undergo when filing discrimination complaints against the agencies they work for.

Under the proposed changes, federal employees wouldn’t have the right to join class-action complaints, unless they wanted to file such a case in federal court.

Additionally, the EEOC would no longer provide mandatory counseling to complainants, which is intended to inform them of their rights under EEO laws, and sometimes pursue informal resolutions. In lieu of mandatory counseling, federal employees would be asked to file a complaint to the EEOC within 60 days of an alleged discriminatory incident occurring. They would no longer be guaranteed a hearing with an EEOC administrative judge, however.

The proposed rule would also limit parties’ ability to engage in discovery, which up until now has allowed both sides involved in a case to gather and exchange information relevant to it.

For more on what the proposed rule could mean for HR, keep reading here.—CV

Sponsored By Vestwell

Want to attract top-tier candidates? Your retirement benefits could influence their decision. Vestwell’s latest report found that 90% of employees think a retirement plan is an essential benefit and that not offering one is a disadvantage. Learn what today’s employees expect in the full report.

work perks

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: About 1% of US professional jobs are now “AI jobs,” i.e. jobs that wouldn’t otherwise exist without this technology. The share of AI jobs in computer and life sciences is estimated to be even higher, at 4–5%. (the Economist)

Quote: “Having a pension is a big motivator to staying with the company.”—Matthew Cronin, an employee with Pennsylvania-based electric and natural gas utility PECO, on how a new pension benefit affects his propensity to stick around (the Wall Street Journal)

Read: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched the Office of Worker Power on Labor Day. It’s designed to connect local unions and workers with resources about their rights, as well as tools to organize and hold public hearings. (Business Insider)

Benchmark$: LHH’s 2027 Salary Guide outlines global salary trends for LHH Recruitment Solutions. Skills gaps are widening, and AI is trying to rewrite the rules of work. The Salary Guide gives you data-backed benchmarks and actionable insights.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

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.

Share the Brew

Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag.

Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win.

Your referral count: 0

Click to Share

Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
hr-brew.com/r/?kid=9196cb13

Written by Kristen Parisi, Paige McGlauflin, and Courtney Vinopal

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Get smarter in just 5 minutes

Business News: Morning Brew
Tech & AI News: Tech Brew
Markets News: Brew Markets
Real Estate News: The Playbook
Money & Career: Bossy

Take The Brew to work

Interested in podcasts?

Check out People Person on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

ADVERTISE//CAREERS//SHOP//FAQ

Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here.
View our privacy policy here.

Copyright © 2026 Morning Brew Inc. All rights reserved.
22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011

☕ Neuroinclusion 2.0