Human Times

North American Edition

15th June 2026

THE HOT STORY

More firms are using ‘backdoor’ job references

So-called “backdoor” job references, which have long played a role in hiring, are being used more than ever by businesses desperate for human insight now that candidates are using AI to write résumés and coach them through virtual interviews. “They’ve become a lot more important,” observes headhunter Mark Toscano. “The tools that people are using to present themselves in the best light possible are the same reason that companies are resorting to these backdoor references.” Although such references offer the potential for score-settling by rivals, independent recruiter Kelli Hrivnak says: “I’ve actually seen backdoor references help people more often, as opposed to being a detriment.”

Wall Street Journal

WORKFORCE

UN sets first global standards for gig workers

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has agreed to adopt the first binding employment standards for gig workers in sectors such as ride-hailing and food ‌delivery. The Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention, which was adopted at the 114th annual International Labour Conference in Geneva, aims to extend labor protections to hundreds of millions of people worldwide who work through digital platforms. A growing number of workers are being excluded from standard labor protections due to their classification as independent contractors rather than employees, and the protections include an end to such classification, as well as enforcement of minimum wage requirements and obligations including healthcare, sick leave and social security contributions. “For the first time in the history of international law, the women and men who move our cities, who clean and care in our homes . . . will be named, recognised and protected by a binding international standard,” said Amanda Brown, vice chair of the ILO’s Workers’ Group.

Al Jazeera

Reuters

Daily Star (Bangladesh)

CORPORATE

DOJ clears Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice Department has cleared Paramount Skydance's planned $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying the deal was unlikely to harm competition or consumers. The DOJ approved the merger without requiring any divestitures, behavioral remedies or concessions, according to a source. The deal is opposed by many in the entertainment industry who fear it could precipitate mass layoffs, among other concerns. The Antitrust Division said its eight-month review “determined based on the evidence received in its investigation that the transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers” and could ultimately increase it by creating a stronger competitor across streaming, television and film.

Politico

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

LEGAL

Supreme Court overturns conviction of Twitter employee accused of spying

The Supreme Court has unanimously overturned the obstruction conviction of Ahmad Abouammo, a former Twitter employee accused of spying for Saudi Arabia. The justices unanimously ruled that ‌the U.S. Justice Department in ‌2022 wrongly secured Abouammo's conviction in California from a jury in San Francisco, when his only interactions ⁠with FBI ⁠agents had been at his home in Seattle in Washington state. Elena Kagan, writing for the court, said that while the offense of knowingly falsifying a document to impede an FBI investigation "is relatively easy to prove," the law restricts where the prosecution can take someone to trial on that charge. "The trial for falsifying a document must take place where the defendant falsified the document," Kagan wrote. "Here that was ⁠in Seattle - ⁠meaning in venue terms, the ⁠Western District of Washington."

U.S. News

The Guardian

STRATEGY

JBS to close Pennsylvania beef plant amid cattle shortage

JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, is closing its Pennsylvania beef-processing plant, which employs about 1,700 workers, as a prolonged U.S. cattle shortage continues to squeeze the industry. Rising livestock costs have driven heavy losses for processors, with JBS reporting a $279m operating loss in its North American beef business during the first quarter. The move follows similar capacity cuts by rivals including Tyson Foods, while beef prices for consumers remain at record highs.

The Wall Street Journal

Volkswagen to shrink workforce by 19,000 by year's end

Reuters reports that Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume is set to tell investors at the upcoming AGM that the auto maker is pressing ahead with sweeping job cuts ‌and cost reductions in Germany as planned, reducing its workforce by 19,000 by the end ⁠of the year.

Reuters

HIRING

IRS launches hiring drive in six cities following workforce reductions

The IRS is holding in-person hiring events across six U.S. cities to recruit seasonal clerks, customer service representatives, and tax examiners, despite having reduced its workforce by more than 27% over the past year. The recruitment sessions, taking place through mid-July in locations including Kansas City, Jacksonville, Covington, Ogden, and Austin, are intended to strengthen taxpayer services and improve response times. The hiring push comes after IRS staffing fell from more than 102,000 employees in January 2025 to approximately 74,000 by December, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate. IRS chief executive Frank Bisignano said the initiative is aimed at rebuilding key operational capabilities, while Jan Lewis, chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), welcomed the move, expressing hope that additional customer service staff will help address longstanding challenges tax professionals face when contacting the agency.

Journal of Accountancy

ECONOMY

U.S. consumer sentiment rises as lower fuel prices ease inflation concerns

U.S. consumer sentiment rose in early June for the first time in four months, as declining gasoline prices eased some of the pressure on households facing elevated inflation. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index increased to 48.9 from a record low of 44.8 in May, surpassing economists’ expectations, though it remains the second-lowest reading since the 1970s. Consumers’ inflation expectations also moderated, with one-year expectations falling to 4.6% from 4.8%, and five-to-ten-year expectations declining to 3.4%. Lower gasoline prices improved views of personal finances, particularly among lower-income households, which tend to spend a larger share of their budgets on fuel. Despite the improvement, overall sentiment remains historically weak amid inflationary pressures linked to the Iran conflict. Nearly half of survey respondents now expect interest rates to rise over the next year, up from 25% before the conflict began. The survey’s current conditions measure edged higher but remained near record lows, while the expectations index climbed to a three-month high of 49.3.

CNN

Bloomberg

RISK

Anthropic staff to meet White House officials

Senior Anthropic technical staff are in Washington to meet with White House officials in a bid to resolve a dispute that has taken the ⁠San Francisco-based AI start-up's most advanced AI models offline, Axios reports. The Trump administration ordered Anthropic to block any foreign nationals, whether inside or ‌outside ⁠the U.S., from using its latest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. In response, Anthropic said it would disable access to the models globally.

Axios

Euronews

Wall Street Journal

CYBERSECURITY

Chinese hackers 'pose biggest espionage threat to tech firms'

A report from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says China-linked hackers presented the biggest espionage threat to technology companies over the past year, observing that such hacking campaigns align with Beijing’s strategic priorities and a sustained interest in technology ‌development, intellectual property, and information with strategic and economic value. Meanwhile, the report said North Korean hacking campaigns have “posed a major threat” in the past year, and Russia and Iran-linked hacking groups also heavily target other countries’ technology sectors for intelligence ⁠collection and destructive malware attacks.

Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

Swiss voters reject 10m population cap

Voters in Switzerland have rejected a proposal to limit the country's population to 10m. Results showed nearly 55% of participants voted against and 45% voted for. The turnout was 60% of the population. Championed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the proposal stipulated that the population must not exceed 10m before 2050, and that if it did so for two years, Switzerland should end freedom of movement with the EU. The vote was opposed by the government, Swiss businesses, and all the other major parties. “With today’s decision, the electorate has sent out a signal of stability, openness, and reliability,” Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans told a press conference alongside Swiss President Guy Parmelin.

Philippine underemployment rate at near three-year high

The underemployment rate in the Philippines rose to its highest level in nearly three years in April. The share of workers seeking additional hours or jobs rose to 15.2%, the highest since July 2023, according to statistics agency data. The number of underemployed workers increased by 1.4m from March, despite the jobless rate easing to its lowest this year at 4.7%, equivalent to 2.4 million unemployed persons.

Bloomberg

OTHER

Sam Bankman-Fried loses fraud conviction appeal

Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has failed in his attempt to overturn his fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence. In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said prosecutors' evidence against Bankman-Fried "was, conservatively stated, robust." Circuit Judge Barrington Parker wrote on behalf of the panel: "While he was publicly reassuring customers, investors and regulators that FTX customer funds were safe, he was simultaneously using FTX as his own personal piggy bank, spending customer funds on real estate, political contributions, and investments."

Forbes

Financial Times

Reuters

The Human Times is designed to help you stay ahead, spark ideas and support innovation, learning and development in your organisation.

The links under articles indicate original news sources. Some links lead directly to the source material. Others lead to paywalls where you may need a subscription. A third category are restricted by copyright rules.

For reaction and insights on any stories covered in the Human Times, join the discussion by becoming a member of our LinkedIn Group or Business Page, or follow us on X.

Online

Advertise

This e-mail has been sent to [[EMAIL_TO]]

Click here to unsubscribe