Cost-of-living pay reform: Malta’s General Workers’ Union is pushing to split COLA into two payouts each year (June and December) so wages track rising prices faster. Interim leadership pay: Janesville, Wisconsin will consider boosting its interim city manager’s hours from 35 to 40 per week and adding up to $750 weekly after HR says workload exceeded the original cap. Auto labor deal: Unifor reached a tentative three-year agreement with Ford Canada that could cover about 5,150 workers, with details set for ratification meetings. Visa misinformation pushback: Microsoft publicly rebutted claims that its recent layoffs were driven by replacing Americans with H-1B workers, saying the changes were tied to Xbox restructuring and that circulated visa figures were misunderstood. Workplace culture and mental health: A Reddit post highlights how employees can feel toxicity spreads quickly after hiring, while a separate report urges employers to treat workplace mental health as a core 2026 strategy. Hiring and skills pipelines: Atkins Kroll Guam announced a July 25 job fair, and Kuwait’s NBK launched an 18-month mentorship program to grow tech and data leaders.