Hi GMA SHRM Members, 

Brittany Hanson here coming at you with the July President’s update for your GMA SHRM member newsletter.  I am honored to be this year’s Chapter President.  Our fiscal year began on July 1st.   I am so excited to serve along with the amazing volunteers on the GMA SHRM Board of Directors.  Major congrats to some of our new board members – Mary and Arlette.  Our new Newsletter Coordinator Sarah Hart, and Tracy Nelson our new President Elect. 
 
This year is going to look very different from what we thought. HR professionals are leading charge in keeping companies afloat and employees safe and engaged during this pandemic.  We are confident in GMA SHRM’s ability to still provide valuable virtual content, and the GMA SHRM community you know and love.  Our HR Roundtables have been virtual since April, they are a huge success.  We are doing virtual Meet, Eat & Greets, your favorite lunchtime networking activity.  We partnered with Liz Nead, a featured Human Capital Conference speaker, to create a self-guided work from home mental health series to help HR professionals focus on self-care.  All events are member exclusive - check our events section of site to register
 
Speaking of the Human Capital Conference you may have seen communication on this already, but the Human Capital Conference is going virtual.  Check out update below in newsletter from Human Capital Conference Committee for details.
 
If you are a new member new volunteers or are interested in reaching out feel free to email me.  You can click on About and Leaders on GMA SHRM site to see our entire Board of Directors.  Feel free to reach out to any one of them and we hope you are having a wonderful summer!
 
 
Take care,
 
Brittany Hanson, MBA, PHR
President
GMA SHRM

COVID-19 Resources

Title VII Protects Job Applicants and Employees from Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Submitted from Brian P. Goodman, GMA SHRM Programming Member, and Sarah J. Horner, both Attorneys at Boardman & Clark LLP

In a momentous decision on June 15, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from refusing to hire, terminate, or otherwise discriminate against job applicants and employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Prior to this decision, employers in more than half the country could fire employees for being gay, bisexual, or transgender because federal courts did not all agree that Title VII’s ban on discrimination “because of sex” also prohibited discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity. Reconciling this disagreement, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County creates uniform federal protections for LGBTQ+ employees and job applicants.
 
The decision will not have a significant effect on the practices of many Wisconsin employers, especially those in Madison. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act has prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation at the state level since 1981. Additionally, the City of Madison Ordinances prohibit employment discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. Because of this, many Wisconsin employers already have general anti-discrimination policies that protect LGBTQ+ employees and job applicants. However, the Bostock decision also prohibits employment discrimination against employees and job applicants because of their gender identity—a class that was not as clearly protected by state and federal law in Wisconsin prior to this decision.
 
Employers with policies that protect against employment discrimination based on sex likely do not need to change their policies, but they should understand that “sex” will now be interpreted by government agencies and courts to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Additionally, employers seeking to support inclusion might consider revising their policy language to expressly state that discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity are prohibited. Given that LGBTQ+ applicants and employees now have a federal cause of action for employment discrimination and access to more favorable federal employment law remedies, employers should take this opportunity to consider whether potential training for their workforce is appropriate, and consult with legal counsel with any questions about the implications of the Bostock decision.

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Professional Development

GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in May 2020!

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Member Awards and Recognition

Have you recently earned a professional achievement award? If so, we want to hear about it. 
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 .