Opening statements have been made in a San Francisco trial regarding whether Raef Lawson was an independent contractor or an employee when he drove for food-delivery service GrubHub. This is the first time a lawsuit concerning the legal status of gig-economy workers has gone to trial in California.

Former Apple recruiter and current Jobvite Chief People Officer Rachel Bitte advises that job seekers bypass cover letters completely and put more effort into other elements of their job search. A 2017 Jobvite survey backs up Bitte's assessment, as just 26% of surveyed recruiters said that cover letters were an important part of their hiring decisions.

There was little corporate interest in employee wellness at Accenture in 2002 when human resources consultant Julie Wilkes began developing exercise and healthy eating plans, but today the company offers a personalized, high-tech Accenture Active program used by almost 70% of its 50,000 workers. Wilkes says the next step is adding mental health and sleep to the wellness program.

In addition to providing office space, WeWork is also focused on gathering mountains of potentially valuable data about how its customers do their jobs. This data could allow the company to tap into new revenue streams -- building custom interiors for other businesses, for example.

Business acumen and the ability to implement strategies are the skills most lacking when chief HR officers look to hire, a survey shows. CHRO respondents said they'd be most likely to leave their job if they couldn't get their employer aligned around change or if they couldn't connect HR with business initiatives.