SMPHR Weekly Brew — Monday, July 6, 2026

Happy Monday, HR family. It's a news-heavy week — SHRM's own CEO is sounding alarms, a new state pay-transparency law just kicked in, and the AI-in-hiring patchwork keeps getting messier. Here's everything you need to walk into the week informed.

This Week in HR

• SHRM CEO: HR faces 'extinction' and has 'lost the plot' on the future of work (HR Dive) — SHRM's own CEO telling 1.6M US HR pros their function faces "extinction" unless they reposition around AI and business ROI is a wake-up call every practitioner needs to hear.
• Virginia Pay Transparency Requirements Take Effect July 1, 2026 (Workforce Bulletin) — Virginia now joins Washington in allowing employees to sue directly over job-posting pay violations, so HR and TA teams with VA postings need compliant salary ranges live now, not eventually.
• When Developing an AI Strategy, Beware the Urgency Trap (Harvard Business Review) — A useful gut-check for HR leaders under pressure to show quick AI wins to the C-suite: chasing fast "wins" can undermine lasting transformation.

New in the Learning Lab

• Inclusive, Intentional, Human: Leadership's New Playbook (SHRM)
• You Don't Need a Mentor to Get the Career Advice You Need (HBR)
• How to Build a Successful Pipeline of Future-Ready Leaders (SHRM)
• Global Employee Engagement Continues Decline (Gallup)
• The Collapse And Rebirth Of Online Learning And Professional Development (Josh Bersin)

Coming Up

• Missed it live? Watch the 2026 CHRO Roundtable recap — Trezette Dixon on how HR stays at the table.
• Our Q3/Q4 programming is being finalized — check the full 2026 calendar for the year's lineup and to be first to know when new dates drop.

That's the Brew for this week. See you at the next one.