Greetings GMA SHRM Members –

I cannot believe how quickly January came and went. I suppose that happens when there is so much going on! We had our first Professional Development Summit of the year that was very well attended. Our next Summit in March will focus on retaining top talent. I’m also excited to share our keynote speaker for the May 19th conference will be Mike Sarrielle, CEO of Echelon Front Overwatch, retired US Navy SEAL officer, and recipient of the Silver Star, six Bronze Stars, two Defense Meritorious Metals, and a Purple Heart. He will speak about Extreme Ownership – Combat Leadership for Business and Life and The Dichotomy of Leadership – The Mindsets for Victory and Balancing Dichotomies. As in past years, we strive to provide new and timely topics for our annual conference.

 
As a result of our GMA SHRM Strategic Planning Session that took place in January, we have renewed focus areas for 2020 and beyond. I want to thank our Board of Directors and volunteers that contributed to this discussion and plan for the future!
 
Our major areas of focus are:

1. GMA SHRM Member & Corporate Partner recruitment, retention and diversity
2. Diversity of programming & networking opportunities
3. Enhancing our brand awareness, marketing and communications

If at any point you would like more detail about our chapter initiatives, our updated strategic plan will be on the website once available. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions about our strategy or if you would like to get involved with the great work we are doing to support our members. The best way to reach me is at twacek@neugenhealth.com.  
 
I would like to recognize and thank all of our amazing Corporate Partners in 2020! They are listed to the right of this article. We could not provide the valuable and educational programming we do at such a low membership rate without them. As you consider vendors for your organization, I encourage you to look to our Corporate Partners first because they value and support our chapter.
 
Our next family friendly networking event is coming up this month. Please join us at the Madison Capitols on February 28th, 2020 from 5-7 pm and bring your family! You are able to register on our website: http://www.gmashrm.org/events. 


Take Care,

Tammy Wacek, SHRM-CP, PHR
President
GMA SHRM

Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors



 

2020 WI SHRM Day on The Hill!

Submitted by Jeff Palkowski, MHRM, SHRM-CP, PHR Director of Governmental Affairs – Wisconsin SHRM State Council and GMA SHRM Government Affairs Committee Member

February 13, 2020 is the date for the 6^th Annual WISHRM Day on the Hill event.  This annual event is held in Madison and provides an opportunity for human resource professionals from across the state to receive employment law and legislative updates, network with HR colleagues, and participate in meetings at the Wisconsin State Capitol with their elected officials.
 
Modeled after the National SHRM Capitol Hill Advocacy Days in Washington, DC, the WISHRM Day on the Hill is one of the premier state legislative events in the country.  As recently as November 2019 at the SHRM Volunteer Leaders’ Business Meeting, SHRM Government Affairs recognized our Day on the Hill event in Wisconsin as one that other states should be looking at to model their legislative hill days after.
 
For those that have previously attended, you will notice that we have decided to restructure the event to allow for more networking and follow up after the legislative visits by moving the meetings with legislators to the morning. This will allow attendees to share their experiences during lunch and throughout the afternoon. In addition, an option to participate in a guided Capitol Tour will be offered to attendees who choose not to meet with legislators.  For many, this may be the first-time that they have had the opportunity to tour one of the grandest state capitols in the country.
 
Along with the time spent at the Wisconsin State Capitol, the day will also feature several speakers who will provide updates on several topics. Bob Carragher, Vice President of State Affairs from SHRM will provide an update on many initiatives that National SHRM is advocating for in Washington, DC. In addition, Bob will provide information about how SHRM is positioning their SHRM Advocacy “A-Team” to be a leader in HR advocacy.
 
Attendees will also hear from the always informative and entertaining, Bob Gregg, with Boardman and Clark. As always, Bob will provide legal and employment law updates, information from recent court cases, trends in the workplace, and of course some of the more interesting and often outrageous workplace issues that have recently occurred.
 
The day will wrap up with a presentation by Terri Dougherty of J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc. who will discuss the impacts of marijuana and other drugs in the workplace. This has been one of the more challenging and quickly-evolving issues as employers deal with changing laws, particularly with marijuana, and the effects on workplace policies.
 
Prior to the Day on the Hill event, there will also be an evening reception on February 12, 2020 at the Park Premier Hotel. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be available and this is a great opportunity to network with speakers and attendees prior to the following day’s event.
 
Registration for WISHRM Day on the Hill is now open, and we encourage registration prior to January 31, 2020 to ensure the ability to schedule legislative visits. The cost is $75 for SHRM Members, $85 for Non-SHRM Members, and $40 for Students. The cost includes both the evening reception and the Day on the Hill event. Those that wish to attend the evening networking event only can do so for $25.
 
SHRM Certification Credits will be applied for attendees.
 
A room block is available at the Premier Park Hotel. Please make your reservations by no later than January 13, 2020.
 
To register for the 2020 WISHRM Day on the Hill, please visit: https://wishrm.org/2020-Day-on-the-Hill

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Calculating an Employee’s Regular Rate for Purposes of Paying Overtime

Submitted by Brian Goodman, Attorney at Boardman & Clark LLP and VP of GMA SHRM Programming Committee

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay all non-exempt employees an overtime rate of at least 1.5 times their “regular rate” for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. An employee’s regular rate is not necessarily the same as the employee’s normal hourly rate. Under the FLSA, an employee’s regular rate includes “all remuneration for employment paid to, or on behalf of, the employee.” Generally speaking, an employee’s hourly wage and the monetary value of other forms of compensation—such as nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and commissions—count as “remuneration” that an employer must include in the employee’s regular rate. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a rule that took effect on January 15th that provided some clarification on what is includable or excludable from an employee’s regular rate.
 
For example, as distinct from nondiscretionary bonuses, employers do not need to include discretionary bonuses in an employee’s regular rate. Discretionary bonuses are those that are not paid pursuant to any prior agreement, but rather are those bonuses where the fact of and the amount of the bonus is solely determined by the employer at or near the end of the period to which the bonus corresponds. Additionally, employers can exclude the monetary value of the following perks from an employee’s regular rate: sign-on bonuses, payments for unused paid leave, benefit plan contributions, bona fide meal breaks, and certain reimbursements.
 
A recent DOL FLSA Opinion Letter (FLSA2020-1) provided some guidance on how to include nondiscretionary bonuses in an employee’s regular rate. When nondiscretionary bonus earnings cannot be attributed for particular workweeks, employers can allocate the bonus equally to each week of the bonus period. For example, an employer offered a $3,000 bonus to employees if they successfully completed ten weeks of training. The DOL opined that it was appropriate for the employer to allocate $300 of the bonus to each of the ten workweeks. If the employee worked more than 40 hours during any of those ten workweeks, the employer had to include the $300 bonus when calculating the employee’s regular rate for purposes of calculating the employee’s overtime pay.

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Professional Development

GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in December 2019!

Nicole	Anderson		Certco, Inc.
Kelly	Carr		Wegner CPAs
Dan	Henderson		Total Administrative Services Corp
Amy	Kesling		Step Up: Equity Matters
Holly	Lor
Chelsey	Mielke	SHRM-CP, PHR	Total Water Treatment Systems
Mackenzie	Mulligan		Festival Foods
Tami	Sailing		TeamSoft
Dawn	Stencil		Medical Engineering Innovations, Inc.

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Members on the Move

Jennifer Lindberg, SPHR, SHRM-CP joins Lake Effect HR & Law, LLC
Lake Effect HR & Law, LLC, is pleased to announce that Jennifer Lindberg has joined our team, furthering our mission to maximize each client’s workplace potential with a commitment to kindness, true partnership and exceptional service.
 
Prior to joining Lake Effect, Jenn worked in-house as Human Resource Manager at Forward Service Corporation and ABR Employment Services and, before that, served as a strategic HR advisor at a statewide HR company.  Throughout her career, Jenn has assisted employers in a variety of settings, including professional services, staffing, tech and biotech companies, as well as non-profit and religious organizations. 


Have you started with a new company? Has your organization recently promoted you to a new position? Or do you want to recognize a new person or promotion within your department? If so, we want to hear about it. Send us an e-mail, and we’ll publish your good news in the next HR InTouch!  

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In Transition

If you are a member who is in between jobs, or who is currently employed but seeking new positions or career paths, write us a brief description of your skill set, areas of expertise, what you’re looking for, etc. Send us an e-mail. We’ll publish your information in the next HR InTouch.

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HR InTouch Guidelines

Article Writing:

Do you have an interest in writing for the HR InTouch? We have an interest in learning more about your area of expertise!

Why should you volunteer? Top three reasons: 1) to share your knowledge and experiences to educate others; 2) to become more connected in the HR and Dane County communities; and 3) to contribute towards the advancement of GMA SHRM and the HR profession.

The first step is for you to choose a submission option: you can pre-submit an article to GMA SHRM at any time for us to use in any of the upcoming newsletters, you can sign up to write for a particular month, or we can put you on a list of people to contact in future months whenever we need articles.

Article length:

Because the HR InTouch is now in an online format, the size is flexible. The article should be engaging and hold readers’ attention. Include the core information in your article, and we will advise if it is too lengthy.

Solicitation:

GMA SHRM is conscious not to allow solicitation through the articles, in an effort to protect the interests of our partners and members. The nature of the article should be educational (i.e., what are the business advantages of having a product like yours) or informational. Otherwise, if you truly are interested in advertising through the HR InTouch, you can work with our Marketing Committee. As a rule of thumb for article writing, if the submission relates to a for-profit event, or specifically markets your company (vs. your industry), it is an advertisement, and should be purchased. If it is a not-for-profit event that your company is hosting, or an announcement (i.e., a SHRM member recently joined your company), it is an acceptable addition to the HR InTouch content. If you have any questions related to the appropriateness of your submission, please contact us.

If you have questions, or to submit an article, contact GMA SHRM at chapteradmin@gmashrm.org .