HR STRATEGY

Morning Brew Inc.

Tucked into Anthropic’s 300+ page prospectus were details about an employee benefit that, while still fairly niche, is becoming more popular among private companies.

Under a donation matching program, “employees can pledge a meaningful portion of their equity awards toward charitable giving, which we match with shares of our Class N common stock,” per the S-1 filing, which was released in the weeks before the AI giant is expected to IPO.

Charitable giving has long had a foothold in the corporate world, partly because tax laws make it advantageous for workers and companies to donate part of their earnings to non-profits. And while a handful of public companies allow employees to donate their publicly traded shares to charity, such programs weren’t on private employers’ radar until more recently.

That’s starting to change due in part to the immense amount of wealth currently locked up in private markets, according to Adam Nash, co-founder and CEO of Daffy, a donor-advised fund vendor that administers Anthropic’s donation matching program.

For more on Anthropic’s program, how it works and how it could reshape philanthropy, keep reading here.—CV

      

Sponsored By LinkedIn

Applications are hitting your inbox at a steady rate. The resumes look sharp, and the profiles pass the glance test. But then that question creeps in: Do I trust what I’m seeing?

It’s not your imagination. Sixty-four percent of US talent acquisition pros say it’s becoming harder to know who to trust and what’s real when assessing candidates.

That’s where LinkedIn Hiring Assistant 2 comes in. Powered by LinkedIn’s professional network and connected to your hiring context, it brings trusted signals together, like LinkedIn verifications and resumes from your ATS, to give you a richer picture of each candidate.

You can identify who’s verified and qualified faster and with more confidence, so the right candidates don’t get lost in the pile.

Recruiters are 4x more likely to contact candidates sourced by Hiring Assistant than those sourced through other methods.

The next generation of hiring is here.

DEI

Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Getty Images

“DEI is back!”

That’s what California Democrat Ro Khanna proclaimed after the Nov. 3 midterm election, in which Democrats picked up votes in at least 40 seats in the House of Representatives and seven Senate seats. Arizona voters also rejected a law that would have limited DEI programs in the state, according to Baton Rouge news outlet, The Advocate.

While the next Congress stands to be among the most diverse in US history, experts caution that DEI will not magically reappear in the workplace. Employers might want to proceed with caution and focus more on policies over language.

For more on what the midterms could mean for workplace DEI programs, keep reading here.—KP

      

Sponsored By Software Advice

Payroll pricing shouldn't feel like a guessing game. Software Advice’s 2026 Payroll Pricing Guide shows what top providers actually charge so you can budget with confidence and avoid surprise fees. Get a clear look at pricing models, must-haves, and what to watch out for before you sign a contract. Access the free guide.

COMPLIANCE

Francis Scialabba

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently moved away from longstanding guidance for employers that claim tip credits under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

That guidance, known as “80/20,” stated that employers can’t take tip credits if their employees spend more than 20% of their time on duties for which they don’t receive tips, such as cleaning or setting tables. The guidance was codified in a rule issued by President Joe Biden’s administration in 2020, but that regulation was vacated by a federal appeals court in 2024.

The DOL withdrew three opinion letters dating back to the late 1970s and 1980s that formed the basis for the 80/20 guidance, per an Oct. 19 field assistance bulletin from Andrew Rogers, administrator for the agency’s Wage and Hour Division. Rogers noted that the 80/20 guidance was removed from DOL’s Field Operations Handbook in January 2025 in light of the Biden-era rule being invalidated.

He also noted that the DOL plans to issue a proposed rule “to amend various regulations for tipped employees under the FLSA,” per its most recent regulatory agenda.

For more on what this means for employers with tipped workers, keep reading here.—CV

      

Sponsored By Empathy

Planning next year’s benefit strategy? According to Empathy, 60% of employers and 52% of employees say benefits are only somewhat or not at all aligned with employee needs. Check out Empathy's Workplace Benefits Report to see where benefits fall short and what HR can prioritize next.

work perks

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: The average price of a gallon of gasoline dipped below $4 for the first time since July, a welcome reprieve for car commuters. (CNN)

Quote: “The biggest misconception is that it’s just about individual productivity; it’s actually about leveraging AI to perform tasks that previously required a whole team.”—Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson, on how AI is allowing businesses with no employees to flourish (CNBC)

Read: Companies are capping AI spending for some teams while giving others unfettered access to the tools. Employees in revenue-generating roles appear less likely to see their AI budgets cut. (Bloomberg)

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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.

• HR Manager at Valley View Granite
• HR Director at Ford Agency
• Global HR Director, Talent Management at Alamo Group Inc.
• HR Specialist at Aditi Consulting
• Recruiting & HR Specialist at The Five Star