TOTAL REWARDS

Amelia Kinsinger

The Department of Labor recently issued a final rule that will require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), as well as the brokers and consultants they work with, to disclose fees and compensation to large employers’ self-insured group health plans.

PBMs have been scrutinized in recent years over opaque financial practices that can result in higher prescription drug spending. Drug prices are one of the top drivers of health costs today, and are thus top-of-mind for benefits leaders as they seek to contain costs.

“For years, PBMs have operated in the shadows, pocketing hidden fees while workers and employers were left in the dark,” Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said in a statement. “Today, President Trump is delivering the transparency Americans deserve—and putting American workers first.”

The rule could reshape how benefits leaders and health plans approach PBM negotiations going forward, sources told HR Brew. Whether the Trump administration can deliver on this policy’s promise depends in part on how the PBM industry reacts to it, they added.

For more on what the rule requires, and how PBM negotiations could change, keep reading here.—CV

      

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COMPLIANCE

Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Getty Images

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a law establishing employment protections for most part- and full-time US workers. Protections include those pertaining to minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment.

When was the FLSA enacted?

The FLSA was signed into law in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his New Deal to promote economic recovery in the wake of the Great Depression. It established the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to administer and enforce the law.

Who must comply with the FLSA?

All US employers must comply with the FLSA. Violations are reported to the WHD and may result in monetary or criminal penalties.

For more on the FLSA, who it protects and how it’s evolved over the years, keep reading here.—VV

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RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Getty Images

A strong national jobs report trickled down to the tech sector as AI continued to push the industry’s fortunes.

According to numbers from CompTIA, tech unemployment fell from 3.3% in September to 2.8% in October. It’s a stronger number than the national unemployment rate of 4.1%, which also saw a month over month drop.

AI is helping to drive tech jobs, Seth Robinson, CompTIA VP of research, explained in a statement accompanying the numbers. Knowledge of how to navigate the new IT reality is key, with things changing so rapidly.

“The strength in tech hiring and job postings is encouraging, but the bigger story is where the demand is occurring,” Robinson said.

For more on how AI is affecting the job market, keep reading on IT Brew.—EH

      

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work perks

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: The percentage of knowledge workers in the US who freelance reached 38% this year, up from 28% in 2025. (Upwork)

Quote: “If you’re hiring fewer people, you need people who are operating at peak productivity…That tells us why experienced workers are having a moment and gaining the upper hand in his labor market.”—Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, on how older vs. younger generations may be experiencing the labor market differently (the Washington Post)

Read: There’s a first for everything, even in major sports leagues. A group of 127 Major League Baseball editorial employees have unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. (the New York Times)

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