Greetings GMA SHRM Members –

Fingers crossed, spring has finally sprung!  We look forward to celebrating with you at our 2018 Human Capital Conference. Registration is still open and I encourage you to register today if you haven’t already.  David Horsager is our keynote speaker this year and as always, we have several fantastic breakout sessions, opportunities to meet our partners and sponsors for the day, a networking hour (with food!) and door prizes.  We’ll also again have silent auction items this year to benefit the SHRM Foundation – so many opportunities to win a prize!
 
I know summer is a busy time for all of us, but wanted to share some upcoming communications and events that you can take advantage of, while hopefully having some time away from work to enjoy the summer!

Late May – our new Board of Directors slate will be emailed out to our membership for formal vote and approval.  Each year, we solicit nominations for new board members to join the board and are looking forward to welcoming new members and continuing with many current board members.  Look for the slate to land in your in-box later this month!

• Early June – our annual member survey.  This is another opportunity for you to help us shape our 2019 programming, with topics and speaker suggestions and give input in a few other areas of the chapter.  In addition, you can enter to win 1 of 5 gift cards valued at $25, just for completing the survey!
• June 14 – our first “Meet, Greet & Eat” will be held at Waypoint Public House for a lunch event.  This is a less structured event and a great opportunity to share stories, eat lunch and meet fellow GMA Members.  Learn more and RSVP to attend here.
• June 17 – 20 is the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition.  This year, it’s held in Chicago – hopefully some of you will have the opportunity to attend.  Our Roundtable discussions continue throughout the summer.  These are monthly discussions to address HR topics that are top of mind to you and your company, brainstorm on a new idea you may have to implement or hear from other GMA Members.  If you haven’t attended one yet, I encourage you to attend one this summer to take advantage of this fantastic benefit!
• The August PDS is open for registration! The topics will focus on “Evidence-Based Human Resource Management” and “Understanding Advanced Issues in FMLA Administration”.  Both will be great topics and I encourage you to sign-up early to attend!

I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event and as always, if you do have any questions or feedback on our chapter, please feel free to reach out to me directly.


Best Wishes,

Melissa Chadwick
President
GMA SHRM

Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors

 

Health Savings Account Family Maximum to Remain $6,900 Annually

Submitted by: Tammy Wacek, GMA SHRM President Elect

On March 3, 2018, Revenue Procedure 2018-18 reduced the maximum Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution for taxpayers with family coverage under a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) to $6,850 annually, from $6,900. This was due to a change in the inflation adjustment calculations for 2018 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. There was no change to the maximum contribution amount for taxpayers with single coverage and that amount remains at $3,450 annually.
 
On April 26, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service announced it will allow the previous maximum amount of $6,900 annually for family HSA contributions. Employers will want to make sure to update their procedures and policies accordingly.   

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IRS Issues FAQ Guidance on Employer Tax Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave

Submitted by: Abigail Darwin, GMA SHRM Government Affairs Committee Member and Employee Benefits Attorney at Quarles & Brady LLC

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and Section 45S of the Internal Revenue Code enable employers to claim a business tax credit in years 2018 and 2019 for paid family and medical leave that they provide to employees under certain circumstances.  The tax credit applies to employers of all sizes and even to those who are not subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). 
 
On April 9, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued FAQ guidance on its website to help employers better understand the legal requirements necessary to take advantage of the tax credit.  The FAQs clarify that:
 

• The leave policy must be in writing and must provide: 
  • At least two weeks of paid family and medical leave annually to both full-time and part-time employees (prorated for part-time employees); and
  • Wages that are at least 50% of what the employee normally earns.
     
• A qualifying employee is one who has been employed for at least one year and whose compensation did not exceed more than a certain threshold amount (i.e., no more than 60% of the salary for a “highly compensated employee”) 
  • For 2018, the credit is available for employees who earned $72,000 or less in 2017.
     
• The leave must be for one or more of the following reasons: 
  • Birth of a child or to care for the child;
  • Placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
  • To care for the employee’s spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition;
  • A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his/her job;
  • Any qualifying exigency resulting from the employee’s spouse, child or parent being on covered active military duty (or having been notified of an impending call or order to covered active military duty).
  • To care for a service member who is the employee’s spouse, child, parent or next of kin.
     
• If an employer provides paid vacation, personal, medical or sick leave (other than leave specifically for one of the purposes mentioned above), that paid leave will not be considered “family and medical leave” for purposes of the tax credit;
   
• Any leave paid by a State or local government or which is required under any State or local law will not be taken into account in determining the amount of paid family and medical leave for purposes of the tax credit;
   
• The credit is calculated as a percentage of the amount of wages paid to a qualifying employee while on family and medical leave for up to 12 weeks per year; 
  • The credit will range from 12.5% to 25% of the cost of each hour of paid leave, depending on how much of an employee’s regular earnings are replaced by the employer’s leave benefit.
     
• The wages used for this tax credit may not be used for any other business tax credit, and an employer must reduce its deduction for any wages related to the credit by the amount of the credit;
  • For example, if an employer pays an employee $40,000 in wages, which includes $5,000 of paid FMLA leave for which the employer received a credit of $1,250, the employer can only deduct $38,750 of the wage expense.

 
In the FAQs, the IRS also indicated that it expects to issue additional future guidance that will address when a written leave policy must be in place, how paid “family and medical leave” relates to an employer’s other paid leave, how to determine if an employee has been employed for “one year or more,” the impact of State and local leave requirements, and whether members of a controlled group of businesses should be treated as a single taxpayer in determining the tax credit.

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Advocacy, Human Resources….and Cheese?

Submitted by: Jeff Palkowski, SHRM-CP, SHRM Advocacy Captain for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, Director of Government Affairs for Greater Madison Area SHRM
(Reprint from SHRM Policy Action Center – 3/6/18)

So, what event brings together advocacy, engaged human resources professionals, legislators…and deep fried cheese curds?  If you guessed Wisconsin’s 2018 Day on the Hill, you would be correct!
 
For the 4th consecutive year, the Wisconsin State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management (WISHRM) has organized one of the premier human resources legislative and advocacy events in the nation, WISHRM Day on the Hill in Wisconsin’s state capitol city, Madison, Wisconsin.
 
This year’s event, held on February 21, 2018, was built on the success of previous “Day on the Hill” events and provided nearly 70 human resources professionals from both Wisconsin and surrounding states with timely employment law and legislative updates along with the opportunity for attendees to meet with Wisconsin State Representatives and State Senators to discuss current HR-related legislation currently being deliberated in the Wisconsin State Legislature.  For many of our human resources professionals, the event served as their first introduction to “advocacy in action.”
 
Planning and hosting an event of this nature takes months of advance work and could not be done successfully without the work of a team of dedicated SHRM volunteers committing their time and talents as part of a “Day on the Hill” planning committee.  WISHRM has been fortunate to have a hard-working committee led by WISHRM Legislative Director, Elise Rommes, and WISHRM Government Affairs Director, Tony Renning, as well as a number of committee members from local SHRM chapters all across Wisconsin.
 
Along with in-state resources, WISHRM also relies on the expertise of Meredith Nethercutt, Senior Associate for Member Advocacy at SHRM.  In addition to supporting us with best practices from other states and updates from DC, Meredith also works with the offices of our state legislators in scheduling the multitude of meetings that take place during the afternoon visit to the Wisconsin State Capitol for advocacy meetings.
 
This year, Meredith also prepared our attendees by facilitating a pre-conference webinar one week before the event.  Attendees were provided with information about advocacy best practices, how to conduct a meeting with elected officials, and information about SHRM’s advocacy efforts.  Tony Renning also offered an overview of the legislative issues that attendees would be advocating in support of on behalf of WISHRM.
 
An evening reception was held the day before the Day on the Hill to provide an opportunity for attendees to network with each other and prepare for the next day events in a casual, social environment.  Several attendees also chose to take a brief tour of the Wisconsin State Capitol and were able to view the Wisconsin State Assembly in session from the Assembly Gallery.  The highlight of the evening for many was the “post reception” to partake in a Wisconsin delicacy, the famous deep fried cheese curds, made with locally crafted Wisconsin cheese!
 
Our event day began bright and early at 8:00am with a special welcome message.  I had the honor of reading a welcome letter to our attendees from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.  In his letter, Governor Walker recognized the importance of the human resources profession and our critical role in the future growth and development of the growing Wisconsin economy.

Meredith Nethercutt then provided an informative update, highlighting the many accomplishments of the SHRM Advocacy Team (A-Team) in 2017.  These accomplishments included: “reach outs” by policy makers, invitations to congressional and state roundtables, and member testimony before congressional, federal agency and state committees.  Attendees were also given an overview of the SHRM A-Team, and how our collective HR voices can make a difference at all levels of government through member advocacy.
 
The remainder of the presentations included:

• A legislative update from Chris Reader, Director of Health & Human Resources Policy at Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) regarding the issues that we would be advocating for in legislative meetings.
• Legal updates and the “strangest employment cases of the year” from Attorney Bob Gregg of Boardman & Clark Law Firm and WISHRM Legislative Partner.
• A ‘How a Bill Becomes a Law” session (for those of you seasoned HR professionals, think “Schoolhouse Rock”, and yes, we did play the video…) conducted by Attorney Tony Renning, WISHRM Government Affairs Director.
• An Affordable Care Act (ACA) update by Susan Sieger, Senior Compliance Consultant with Employee Benefits Corporation.
• A behind the scenes look at the Wisconsin State Capitol presented by Jessie Opoien of the Capital Times Press Corps.

After the final presentation, the majority of the attendees gathered for the short walk from our conference hotel, across the street to the Wisconsin State Capitol for our pre-scheduled meetings with legislators.
 
Each attendee received pre-scheduled appointments to meet with either their elected officials (State Assembly Representative and State Senator) and/or the legislator’s staff.  During these meetings, our advocates took the opportunity to introduce themselves as constituents, share information about SHRM and our presence in the state, and then provide information related to several timely issues that are vital to our profession.  The issues advocated for with legislators this year were:
 

• Harmonization of Wisconsin’s Family Medical Leave Act with the federal Family Medical Leave Act
• Worker’s Compensation Cost Containment Reform
• Legislation proposed to ensure consistent, statewide human resources standards, preempting local governments from creating local standards

 
With the Wisconsin State Assembly in session, representatives were on the Assembly Floor throughout the afternoon but several members took time out to meet with our advocates personally to acknowledge our advocacy issues.  Some attendees met with legislative staff to provide information to be shared with the legislator.
 
Overall, the efforts of our Wisconsin SHRM advocates have made a positive impact upon the legislative process.  Several of the issues that were discussed in previous sessions have moved forward and the annual visits and ongoing dialogue with the elected officials has strengthened the relationship between our Wisconsin SHRM members and their elected officials.
 
For those SHRM members across the country that have not participated in a similar “Day on the Hill” in your state, I strongly encourage you to do so.  While it may be a different and unique experience from other human resources professional development opportunities, it is one that can help to open new insights to an element of our profession that can be often overlooked.
 
Each year we have a mix of new attendees as well as those that return each year.  Their experiences have helped our members to learn more about the lawmaking process and provided them with the knowledge and confidence to make their collective voices heard on issues that are important to our employers, employees and the overall human resources profession.
 
When asked about the solid commitment WISHRM has made toward hosting this event each year, WISHRM Legislative Director Elise Rommes said, “I feel fortunate to be in a state where the SHRM Council invests in a conference like this each year.  It is truly a great opportunity to not only provide our members with legal updates, but to help make an impact on key issues affecting business and our human resources profession.”
 
NOTE: The 5^th Annual WISHRM Day on the Hill is tentatively being planned for February, 2019.  More information will be provided when available.




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Professional Development

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Welcome New Members!

GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in April 2018!

Laura	Contreras		Women's International Pharmacy
Susan	Gafner
Anita	Herrick	SPHR	WI Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
Lisa	Jacob		Goodman Community Center
Mike	Kern
Mary	Khamphouy		AccuWeb BST North America
Elana	Koyun		Care Wisconsin First, Inc.
Mike	Krach		The Alliance
Donna	Marchese		WI Department of Justice
Anne	Nowak		Nowak Consulting
Pamela	Olson		Catholic Charities
Carol	Rosenstock		Morgan Stanley
Bill	Schultz		Schultz Management Search
Sue	Stark		MRA
Lyra	Trapp		Overture Center Foundation
Holly	Weber		Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Jenn	Wepfer	SHRM-CP, PHR	UW SMPH Department of Emergency Medicine
Jennifer	Wilkie	SHRM-CP, PHR	Horizon
Mary	Wilkosz		Therma-Stor LLC
Jean	Williams	PHR	Covance

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Movin' Up

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 .