Greetings GMA SHRM Members!

As we transition from winter's lingering chill to the budding warmth of spring here in Wisconsin, there's a palpable sense of excitement in the air. We're thrilled to kick off the second quarter with an outstanding group of volunteers ready to lead us into the 2025-2026 board year. Stay tuned for all the exciting updates we have in store! It's truly inspiring to see so many new faces diving into our committees and bringing their unique energy and ideas. If you haven't yet joined us, now is the perfect time to get involved and experience the vibrant community of GMA SHRM. Reach out to any of our Board of Directors to learn more.

April is National Volunteer Month, making it fitting to take a moment to recognize and celebrate the contributions of our GMA volunteers who generously give their time and energy to our committees, board of directors, WI SHRM Council, and state conference each year. We truly wouldn’t be the chapter and community that we are without each of you, so “Thank You” from the bottom of my heart! ❤️

If you’d like to meet and get to know some of these superb volunteers, join us at one of our upcoming events over the next couple of months. A perfect one to explore all your options at is our fun GMA SHRM 101 event coming up on April 23rd at Blackhawk Country Club. This event is focused on providing insights into various volunteer opportunities while enjoying snacks and beverages with other great HR leaders. Click here to register today!

Also, for ongoing connection opportunities, we have our virtual HR Roundtables every month, with options to fit varying day and time preferences.

In addition to these events, we have some exciting opportunities for members who are actively studying for their SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certification exam. We have a virtual Certification Prep Panel on April 9th where you can hear from others who have recently taken the exam.  There will also be a virtual study group beginning April 30th. For more information and to register for these, click here.  

With spring activities filling our calendars, don’t forget to include our sought-after annual Human Capital Conference  (HCC) on May 20th. We have a spectacular lineup of speakers again this year, including Keynote Presenter, Anne Bonney, along with 9 incredible breakout presentations & 6 certification credits! Be sure to visit the 2025 conference page for the full details and to secure your seat today!

Wishing you lots of sunshine and springtime joys! Thank you for being part of our community. See you next month!


Warm regards,

Laura Bermudo, President
Greater Madison Area SHRM Chapter
lbermudo@myhaus.com / 608.383.4568

Legal Update – Retaliation Claims – What is an Attempt to Enforce a Right?

Submitted from Storm Larson, Brian P. Goodman, and Aiyanah Simms, Attorneys at Boardman & Clark LLP, a Platinum Partner

Storm Larson

Brian Goodman

Aiyanah Sim

Retaliation claims are generally the most common labor and employment claims. One key reason for this is because an employee is legally protected from retaliation for so many reasons. Here is an easy example: a company can’t retaliate against an employee for filing an EEOC claim against the company. However, retaliation claims include a wide range of protected activities. The scope of retaliation protection under Wisconsin law was the subject of a recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision, Radtke v. LIRC (2025).

An employee claimed her employer unlawfully retaliated against her by terminating her after she requested overtime pay that she believed she was owed. The statute at issue required her to “attempt to enforce any right” under the law in order to receive legal protection from retaliation. The court concluded that merely asking an employer for overtime compensation did not constitute an “attempt to enforce any right.” Enforcement typically involves actions like filing a formal complaint or seeking government intervention. The employee did not file a formal complaint, which would have constituted an attempt to enforce a right, until after she was terminated. Therefore, she could not assert a retaliation claim. However, she was still able to move forward with her underlying overtime claim.

This decision narrows the scope of employee activities that provide legal protection against retaliation under Wisconsin law. However, the scope of legally protected activities remains broad, and not all statutes use this exact language. Therefore, employers should continue to exercise caution before taking adverse action after employees have raised internal concerns about their rights under the law.

April 23 - GMA SHRM 101 and Member Welcome

Wednesday, April 23rd

Location:  Blackhawk Country Club

Time:  3:30pm - 5:30pm

Don't miss this chance to learn about specific GMA SHRM programs and how your involvement with GMA SHRM can support you & your success!   Snacks and beverages provided.
 

More Information and Registration

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2025 GMA SHRM Human Capital Conference!

 

 

Board Spotlight:  Human Capital Conference and Committee

Submitted by Anita Herrick, HR Director for UW Madison WVDL and HCC Director

Here we are in another new year…and a lot has changed again! While we are all working hard to make it through many challenges, we are so grateful to our GMA SHRM members and community for providing us with outstanding quality resources as we continue the great work of networking and connecting in our world.

We are very excited to offer the 2025 GMA Human Capital Conference (HCC) on May 20, 2025! The GMA SHRM Board and the HCC Committee have lined up an impressive and impactful line-up of keynote speakers and breakout programs to the Wisconsin human resources community. The GMA SHRM Annual HCC offers meeting attendees relevant human resources content on issues including compensation, government affairs, innovative recruiting ideas and retention techniques in an entertaining atmosphere that is conducive for networking.

We are thrilled to highlight this year’s keynote speaker Anne Bonney! Anne is going to fire up attendees with her “Dancing Through Discomfort, Change and The Messy Middle” and “Igniting Your Influence: Firing Up Emotional Intelligence” keynote sessions!

As we start our planning for 2026 HCC, we are always looking to add to our group of talented and amazing volunteers! If you’d like to learn more about this fun and engaging committee and how you might benefit from volunteering for the GMA SHRM Human Capital Conference, please feel free to email me at anita.herrick@wisc.edu with any questions.
 

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SHRM Certification Prep Resources

Submitted by Andrea Wyant, HR Manager of Spectrum Brands and Director of Certification
 

SHRM offers two testing windows a year for HR professionals to sit for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exam. The next testing window will be May 1st – July 15th. Testing information can be found here.

For our members who are preparing to take the exam this year, we’re pleased to announce that our next certification prep sessions are starting end of April! Registration and event information can be found here.

In addition to the prep sessions, we are also hosting a virtual panel event on April 9th from noon to 1 pm. If you want to hear directly from GMA SHRM members who have recently taken the certification exam, please mark your calendars! Three panelists will share the realities of the test taking experience, and their best advice for if you’re considering or planning to pursue certification. Registration and event information can be found here.

Any certification questions can be directed to our Director, Certification – Andrea Wyant at andrea.m.wyant@gmail.com.

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2025 Virtual Roundtables Open for Registration!

 

Join us for these virtual discussions facilitated by members!

During Roundtables, members discuss their emerging HR challenges and when possible, others offer possible solutions, support, and resources. Come with those questions top of mind for your organization, offer your own experience and best practices, or simply join to network with others.

More Information and Registration

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Embracing AI in HR: Balancing Innovation with Responsibility

Submitted by Jim Morgan, Courtney Lamers, Lisa Hirchert at MRA, a GMA SHRM Gold Partner 

As we move into the future, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of business operations, especially within human resources. AI is transforming how HR professionals work, streamlining processes, enhancing decision-making, and enabling teams to focus on the more strategic and creative aspects of their roles.

AI’s Growing Role in HR
AI is revolutionizing several key HR functions, including:

• Enhancing productivity by reducing the manual effort required to compare documents, write policies and job descriptions, create presentations, and compose emails. Our members say they are saving an average of 1.5 hours per day by using AI for these tasks.
• Making recruitment smarter by screening beyond keywords, automating interview processes, using predictive success analytics, and analyzing language to reduce bias.
• Improving the employee experience with advanced HR chatbots, voice assistants, 24/7 global support systems, real-time sentiment analysis, and personalized engagement activities.
• Innovating skills management with AI-driven gap analysis, personalized learning paths, and automated career development suggestions.
• Using employee attributes and workload capacities to predict staffing needs and optimize workloads.

Increasing retention with flight risk prediction models, proactive intervention systems, and data-optimized compensation.

Optimizing strategic workforce planning with predictive talent needs modeling, scenario planning, and productivity analytics.

Making better decisions with the help of manager advisory tools, data-driven performance systems, and objective measurement of soft skills.

Increasing efficiency and saving time is one of the top goals for human resources professionals using generative AI (i.e., Chat GPT, DeepSeek, Claude, Gemini). It starts with a great “prompt.”  Here are some examples:

• Job Description Generator: "Generate a clear and engaging job description for a [Job Title] role, including key responsibilities, required qualifications, and preferred skills."
• Create Interview Questions: "Create a list of structured interview questions for a [Job Title] position that assess both technical skills and cultural fit."
• Candidate Email Templates: "Draft a professional email template for rejecting a candidate post-interview with constructive and appreciative language."
• Employee Onboarding Checklist: "Generate a step-by-step onboarding checklist for new hires, ensuring a smooth transition into the company culture and processes."
• HR Metrics Report Format: "Generate a structured format for an HR metrics report, including key performance indicators such as employee turnover, retention rate, and time-to-hire."

By automating repetitive tasks, AI allows HR teams to dedicate more time to fostering company culture, employee engagement, and strategic planning.

While AI offers immense benefits, its implementation must be handled with transparency and care to mitigate employee concerns. Employees may have concerns about job security, data privacy, and the fairness of AI-driven decisions. HR leaders play a crucial role in setting the right tone by offering workshops and discussions to demystify AI and highlight its advantages, creating spaces for employees to share experiences, ask questions and express concerns, and positioning AI as an enhancement to human work rather than a replacement, much like onboarding a new team member.

Despite its potential, AI comes with risks and challenges that organizations must acknowledge and address. Companies must ensure AI tools comply with local and global privacy laws safeguarding employees' personal data. If AI is trained on biased data, it may inadvertently reinforce discrimination. Organizations should regularly audit AI systems to promote fairness and equity. Transparent decision-making and ethical AI use should be guiding principles in every implementation.

If integrating AI into HR seems daunting, you’re not alone. It’s a business imperative, but also an evolving landscape that requires careful navigation. Feeling cautious is natural—and healthy.

By striking a balance between leveraging AI’s benefits and upholding ethical and legal standards, organizations can harness AI to build a more efficient, fair, and innovative workplace. AI should not be viewed as merely a tool but as a dynamic component of the HR ecosystem, with its own unique considerations and evolving best practices.

The future of HR is one where AI enhances, rather than replaces, the human touch. Through thoughtful integration, HR professionals can ensure that AI serves as a powerful ally in shaping the future of work.

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