Greetings GMA SHRM Members –

Happy New Year! I hope all of our members had a wonderful, safe holiday season and took some time to enjoy family and friends. I know I did and I feel ready to face the adventures of the new year. 
 
I am very excited about our upcoming GMA SHRM Strategic Planning Session happening on January 17^th. Our Board of Directors and volunteers hold a full day event twice per year to discuss our initiatives and priorities. We want to make sure we are meeting our vision and mission as a chapter and, most importantly, serving our members. I would encourage any member to join us that is interested in being part of the process and understanding how we plan for the future. If you would like more information, please reach out to me at twacek@NeuGenHealth.com.
 
GMA SHRM will once again sponsor the Day on the Hill event happening in Madison on February 12^th – 13^th. Please consider joining your HR colleagues from around the state for the opportunity to meet with your elected officials at the Wisconsin State Capitol. This event also includes legislative updates and networking with HR Professionals.
 
From a shrm.org perspective, I would like to share some new tools and benefits that national SHRM members have access to. There is a new suite of interactive tools that include COBRA notices generator, employee cost calculator, interview question builder, performance review builder, and more. There are toolkits and resources on specialized workplace topics like Ageism, Cybersecurity, HR Department of One, I-9 Compliance, Mental Health, Organizational Culture, Skills Gap & Workforce Readiness, Young Professional & Student Guidance, etc. Members also have access to more than 1,000 job description templates. There are a lot of valuable resources right at your fingertips. You will find all the details at shrm.org. 


Take Care,

Tammy Wacek, SHRM-CP, PHR
President
GMA SHRM

Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors



 

Mark Your Calendars for the 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

Return to Top

 

---

Paid Family and Medical Leave Movement Picks up Speed

Submitted to Brenna McLaughlin, Attorney at Boardman & Clark LLP and GMA SHRM Programming Committee Member

The federal government recently took a significant step toward offering paid family leave to all employees of the federal government. In December 2019, the House of Representatives approved the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which contains a provision granting all federal government employees 12 weeks annually  of paid family leave for the birth or adoption of a child. The legislation is expected to pass the Senate, be signed by the President, and go into effect in 2020. 
 
The paid leave movement gained significant traction in the past few years. Currently, eight states, along with Washington D.C., have already enacted laws mandating that private employers provide paid family leave for employees. Some programs, like New York’s, are administered through insurance programs funded through employee payroll deductions. Additionally, both Oregon and Connecticut enacted mandatory paid family leave laws in 2019 that are set to take effect over the next two years.
 
Even more states require mandatory paid sick/medical leave. Currently, twelve states plus Washington, D.C. require private employers to offer paid sick leave for employees to recover from an illness or care for a sick relative. State sick leave laws typically work on an accrual basis. For example, Michigan’s law, which went into effect in 2019, requires employers to allow employees to accrue 1 hour of paid medical leave for every 35 hours worked.
 
Although Wisconsin does not currently have mandatory paid family or sick leave, Wisconsin employers should be aware of this growing trend. Calls for paid employee leave benefits will likely continue to grow over the next decade at both the state and national levels. In a competitive marketplace, many employers are offering increasingly generous paid leave benefits to employees in an effort to attract and retain top talent. Finally, this patchwork of state laws requires employers with multi-state operations to be diligent in complying with the details of all applicable state paid family and sick/medical leave laws. 

Return to Top

Professional Development

³ – 2019 Faux Employer Branding Vs. Magnetic Employer Branding: https://www.ere.net/faux-employer-branding-vs-magnetic-employer-branding/

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

Janna	Boehm		Edgewood College
Jeremiah	DeGollon		UW - Center for Professional and Executive Development
Nora	Digre		Remedy Intelligent Staffing
Rachel	Fuerstenberg		Student - Madison College
Beth	Johnson		Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association
Stacy	Kramer		Connect Search, LLC
Jared	Rogers	SHRM-CP	QPS Employment Group
Jacob	Scheffler		Remedy Intelligent Staffing
Kat	Shanahan		UW - Center for Professional and Executive Development
Wade	Udelhoven		Village of Mount Horeb
Amanda	Van Duyn		Fairway Independent Mortgage
Susan	Varghese		Madison Area Technical College
Alondra	Vazquez		Student - UW Madison

Return to Top

---

 

Members on the Move

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!  

Return to Top

---

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.

Return to Top 

 

---

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 .