Juneteenth holiday gaining traction among employers: More employers are recognizing Juneteenth as a company holiday, a year after racial awakening and protests rocked the nation and put employers’ efforts into sharp focus. Companies including Best Buy, National Grid and the Hartford are giving employees Friday as a paid day off in recognition of Juneteenth on June 19. Read more here.

A $30K raise or remote work forever? Employees want remote: Employees at some of the biggest and most well-known companies in the United States say they would choose working from home over a hefty pay raise—the latest evidence of the popularity of work-from-home benefits that has big implications for HR and company leaders. According to a survey of 3,000 workers from companies including Google, Amazon and Microsoft by professional network Blind, 64% said they would choose a permanent work-from-home option over a $30,000 pay raise. Read more here.

Cut workers’ fear of COVID-19 vaccines with these 4 strategies: As trusted providers of information, employers can play a pivotal role in spurring vaccine adoption and moving the country toward herd immunity. Leveraging data, incentives and multi-channel communications, employers can help educate employees on vaccine eligibility, safety and local rollouts and motivate them to get vaccinated. Read more here.

How employers can help ease return-to-the-workplace anxiety: After nearly a year-and-a-half of worker stress and anxiety related to COVID-19, concerns are shifting to the newest phase of the pandemic: a shift to normalcy—including a return to the workplace. Dr. Rachelle Scott, a psychiatrist and medical director of psychiatry at Eden Health, a startup that works with 40,000 employees across more than 100 employers, says that, with data finding that stress over returning to the office is sky-high, it’s a problem employers cannot afford to ignore. Read more here.

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Meet the 2021 HR’s Rising Stars: HRE received a record number of nominations for the 2021 HR’s Rising Stars competition, with a pool of candidates who were pivotal to helping their organizations not just survive, but thrive, through the pandemic. Ultimately, six emerged as the most innovative, accomplished and promising talent, many of whom helped their organizations tailor benefits to employees’ evolving needs over the last year.Read more here.

Sage-Gavin: HR, now is the time to take action on inclusion: This month, we mark LGBTQ Pride and Juneteenth, as well as the fifth anniversary of the Orlando Pulse nightclub mass shooting and the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre—all of which is taking place just about one year after George Floyd’s death. And this is all against the backdrop of a global pandemic, an economic crisis, rising hate crimes and an ongoing reckoning on institutional racism. It’s a lot to process, and it presents HR and benefits leaders with a profound responsibility to acknowledge how their people are feeling and to cultivate an inclusive workplace culture. Read more here.

What’s the latest on whether employers will require COVID vaccines?: The majority of employers will not require vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition to returning to the workplace—although consideration for requiring inoculation seems to be growing slightly. That’s according to a new survey of 660 employers from Willis Towers Watson released Tuesday. While nearly three-quarters don’t plan to require employees to get vaccinated, nearly 20% plan to instate or are considering inoculation mandates.  Read more here.