HR Trends: What’s on the Horizon for Q2 & Beyond
2026 has already brought forth a plethora of changes and pending compliance updates that have caused ripples across the HR landscape. Keeping up with compliance law updates or proposed changes can be overwhelming. As we head into the second quarter of the year, here are the biggest trends in HR to keep an eye on:
Pay Transparency
As we continue in 2026, pay transparency continues to expand across the United States, with more states implementing or strengthening laws requiring employers to proactively disclose compensation information. These laws reflect a nationwide effort to promote pay equity, close wage gaps, and increase transparency both for prospective job candidates and current employees. As a result, Human Resources professionals are navigating a more complex regulatory environment that starts in the recruiting stage through job postings and impacts your organization from both an internal and external compliance perspective.
While each state’s rules differ, most pay transparency laws share several common themes:
Salary Range Disclosure in Job Postings- Many states now require employers to include the expected salary range which may, or is sometimes required to, include a general description of benefits directly in job postings.
For example, Illinois requires employers with 15 or more employees to include both pay scales and benefits information in job postings. Minnesota is similar, with employers who have 30+ employee to include the same information in job postings as well as disclosure of any other types of compensation offered.
Transparency for Current Employees- In several states, pay disclosure requirements are extending beyond just the recruitment process. Recent legislation in some states also require employers make internal promotional opportunities visible to current employees or provide pay ranges upon request.
Illinois, for instance, requires employers to notify internal employees of promotional opportunities and make pay information accessible for such roles.
Prohibitions on Pay Secrecy & Salary History Practices- It’s also becoming more commonplace for states to prohibit retaliation against employees who discuss their wages and ban employers from seeking an applicant’s salary history. Nationwide guidance highlights that transparency laws increasingly prohibit salaryhistory inquiries and protect employee wage discussions.
Remote Work Considerations- States such as California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey explicitly consider remote roles within the scope of their laws if the position “can be performed in” or “reports into” the state. This means employers must evaluate job ads not only by where the organization is headquartered but also by where employees may live or report.
Pay Data Reporting- Some states supplement disclosure requirements with mandatory pay data reporting to state agencies, such as California, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The use of AI in recruiting and human resources seems to be inevitable at this stage of the game. So, how do you stay ahead of the curve?
AI is reshaping both recruiting and HR by streamlining administrative tasks and influencing how people-related decisions are made. Many organizations now use AI to handle resume screening, candidate searches, and scheduling; however, this has been met with cautious optimism. While these tools can simplify high-volume tasks, they also introduce concerns about overautomation, especially when programs operate with limited human oversight.
Beyond process efficiency, AI programs that assist in the recruiting process can provide datadriven insights that help assess candidate fit, forecast turnover risk, and predict performance potential. Some AI-driven conversational tools advertise enhancing the candidate and employee experiences by providing roundtheclock support and reducing service costs. Yet these same tools risk depersonalizing interactions and may miss important contextual or emotional cues that humans would ordinarily recognize.
AI’s influence now extends across the HR lifecycle from onboarding and performance management to workforce planning and content creation, supporting a broader shift toward realtime, data-informed decision-making. With an increasingly high number of organizations exploring options, or even planning to increase AI investment, technology is quickly becoming embedded in HR operations. But as AI adoption grows, so does the need for strong governance, transparent decision-making, and clear accountability to prevent undue reliance on automated outputs.
While keeping ahead of the growing use of AI is important, it’s also crucial to make sure you are prepared by thinking ahead on the long-term impacts of the use of AI in your workplace, and your HR function. If you don’t have a policy governing the use of AI in not only your workplace, but your human resources functions, now is the time.
Defining Independent Contractors
Also on the horizon, there are potential changes to the determinations in classifying an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The update rule, proposed in February, closely echoes the independent contractor analysis that was enacted in 2021.
This revised standard centers on an “economic reality” test that places the greatest emphasis on two core factors: the degree of control a business exercises over the work the individual performs and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based on their own initiative or investment. These factors are intended to clarify the classification of these individuals and create more predictable outcomes, a change from the 2024 ruling which outlined the sixfactor “totality of the circumstances” model. The DOL’s stated goal is to enhance clarity, reduce misclassification, and support both entrepreneurial workers and employer compliance in a modern labor environment.
The comment period for the proposed, updated ruling is open now through the end of April but could possibly have big implications for businesses who utilize independent contractors, if finalized by the end of 2026 or into early 2027.
Skywalk Group Can Help
While the pace of change across the HR landscape can feel fast, complex, and at times overwhelming, you don’t have to navigate it alone. The HR Consulting team at Skywalk Group is here to simplify what’s ahead, interpret evolving regulations, and support you in making confident, informed decisions for your organization. Our team stays on top of shifting requirements and emerging best practices so you can focus on leading your people, knowing you have trusted experts by your side every step of the way.
By: Delaney Dehnke