SMPHR Weekly Brew — Monday, July 13, 2026

Happy Monday, HR family. This week's news cycle is a reminder that the ground keeps shifting under HR's feet — a major federal guidance rewrite, layoff data that points squarely at AI (not the economy), and fresh research on what employers actually want from candidates now. Let's get into it.

This Week in HR

• EEOC Rescinds 40-Year-Old Affirmative Action Guidance, Unveils New Enforcement Priorities (HR Dive) — With the EEOC withdrawing its own "safe harbor" framework and signaling closer scrutiny of DEI programs and demographic-targeted recruiting, this is the moment to review your affirmative-action and diversity-recruiting policies before enforcement, not after.
• Tech Accounts for Nearly a Third of US Layoffs in the First Half of 2026, Challenger Finds (HR Dive) — AI-driven restructuring, not macro cost-cutting, is now the single leading driver of layoffs for four straight months — which means workforce planning needs an AI-displacement story, not just an AI-hiring one.
• Research: AI Is Changing What Employers Want from New Hires (Harvard Business Review) — AI fluency is quickly becoming table stakes alongside domain expertise, so if your mentorship and career-ladder programs aren't building AI skills into the pipeline yet, now's the time.

New in the Learning Lab

• Supporting Your Employees' Career Growth When Everyone Is Overwhelmed (Harvard Business Review)
• New Year, New Employment Laws — What Takes Effect in January 2026 (SHRM)
• Employee Compensation in 2026: What's Driving More Cautious Investments? (HR Executive)
• Where DEI Falls Short — and How To Rethink It (TED)
• Looking for a Job? Highlight Your Ability, Not Your Experience (TED)

Coming Up

• Professional Development — SMPHR Employment Law Legal Update with John Marino, tentatively slated for October. Watch the full 2026 calendar for the confirmed date.
• Community Outreach — No Hunger Holiday, our annual push to help distribute Thanksgiving dinners, tentatively slated for November. Details on the calendar as they're confirmed.

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