Dane County School Consortium - FutureQuest 2017

Greetings GMA SHRM Members –

At this time last year, we were all wondering (and maybe a bit panicked!) about the new FLSA laws and how that would impact our businesses.  Thankfully, it seems that has, for now, come to a stop.  However, you’ll want to attend our November 14^th PDS to learn about new Employment Law Hot Topics and Intermittent Leaves under State and Federal Disability Laws.  Register here for this event!  We will also be doing a food drive at our November PDS, to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.  Please bring your non-perishable food items or cash donation. 
 
This is also a great time of year to stop and reflect on the many blessings we all have in our lives.  Between work, family, friends, laundry, running errands and all our many commitments, it’s easy to lose sight of the great things we do have in our lives and it’s important to take time to reflect on them.   I hope each of you will take some time this month to thank your support networks for being a sounding board, gut check, mentor, listener – and your family, for not talking to you on nights when you’ve just spent too much time talking at work.  Working in HR is a challenge and if you’re like me, you couldn’t do it without your co-workers, employee’s and support network.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank people who have supported GMA and me in the past year:

• Our GMA Board of Directors.  It’s amazing what this group of people does on a volunteer basis while still holding full-time jobs and additional outside commitments.  Thank you for the work you do, the time you give and the passion you have around advancing the HR profession and giving back to our community.
• GMA Volunteers.  We could not function as an organization without each of you.  Whether you give an hour a year or several hours a week, thank you for the time you dedicate to your committees and making GMA be a best-in-class SHRM organization.
• Morgan Data Solutions, our Chapter Administrator.  Your work does not go unnoticed for all of the “behind the scenes” work you do to run our chapter.  We are beyond lucky to have you.
• Our partners.  Our partners make financial investments in our chapter and, we in turn reinvest the money in our monthly programs, the e-newsletter and weekly e-blasts, our networking events, website and our efforts to give back to the local community through projects such as our annual Job Boot Camp. Thank you for partnering with us and supporting GMA.
• Our Members.  Thank you for continuing to support GMA through our membership renewals, attending our events and supporting our partners.  We are so glad you see the value in what we provide and we continue to strive to provide you the best value we can with speakers, events and information.
• My own family, friends and colleagues.  As I said, HR is not an easy field and many days can be mentally exhausting or completely exhilarating.  Thank you to my husband, children, family, friends and co-workers that are now friends for supporting me in my HR Career and as the GMA President.

I look forward, as always, for the year to come and what is in store.  I look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming events and hope you enjoy the start of the holiday season.

Best Wishes,

Melissa Chadwick
President
GMA SHRM

Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors

 

Changes Proposed for Wisconsin Family Medical Leave Act (WFMLA)

Submitted by:  Jeff Palkowski, Director of Government Affairs GMA SHRM and SHRM Advocacy Captain (Wisconsin 1st CD)

In 1988, Governor Tommy Thompson signed Wisconsin’s Family Medical Leave Act (WFMLA) into state law.  Five years later, President Bill Clinton signed the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) into federal law.  Although somewhat similar in nature, human resources professionals have had to concurrently manage both laws for employees for nearly 25 years.  This has often created confusion and extra effort for both employers and employees alike to manage.  (For a comparison of Federal and Wisconsin Family Medical Leave Laws, visit the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development web page at:
https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/er/civil_rights/
fmla/federal_state_law_comparison.htm)
 
State Senator Alberta Darling, Representative Joan Ballweg and Representative Mike Rohrkaste have authored a bill which would adopt the federal FMLA for most employers who now are required to follow both acts while maintaining a WFMLA provision to allow employees to take care of a spouse, parent, domestic partner, or parent-in-law with a serious medical condition.
 
The following is an analysis of the bill draft by the Legislative Reference Bureau:
 
This bill provides an exemption from state family and medical leave law for an employer that is covered under the federal family and medical leave law. Under the current state family and medical leave law, an employer, including the state, that employs at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis in this state must permit an employee who has been employed by the employer for more than 52 consecutive weeks and who has worked for the employer for at least 1,000 hours during the preceding 52 weeks to take six weeks of family leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoptive placement of a child or two weeks of family leave in a 12-month period to care for a child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner of the employee or a parent of the spouse or domestic partner of the employee (parent-in-law) who has a serious health condition.  Current law also requires an employer to permit an employee to take two weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period when the employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee's employment duties. Under the current federal family and medical leave law, an employer that employs at least 50 individuals for each working day for 20 or more weeks in the current or preceding year and the state or a political subdivision of the state, regardless of the number of employees employed (employer), must permit an employee who has been employed by the employer for at least 12 months and who has worked at least 1,250 hours for that employer during the preceding 12 months (eligible employee) to take 12 weeks of family or medical leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoptive or foster care placement of a child; to care for a spouse, child, or parent, but not a domestic partner or parent-in-law, who has a serious health condition; or when the employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position.  Federal law, however, excludes from the definition of “eligible employee" an employee who works at a worksite with fewer than 50 employees if the employer employs fewer than 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.  In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has held, in Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland, 566 U.S. 30 (2012), that, absent a waiver of sovereign immunity, a state may not be sued for damages for a violation of the medical leave provisions of the federal family and medical leave law.
 
The bill provides that the state family and medical leave law does not apply to any of the following:
1.  An employer that is required to provide leave under the federal family and medical leave law.
2.  An employer that opts to provide leave under the federal family and medical leave law to an employee who is not an eligible employee, so long as the employer provides leave to such an employee in the same manner as the employer provides leave to an eligible employee.
 
The bill, however, does not prohibit any of the following:
1.  An employee from taking leave under the state family and medical leave law to care for a spouse, child, parent, domestic partner, or parent-in-law who has a serious health condition.
2.  An employee of the state who has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her employment duties from taking medical leave under the state family and medical leave law.
 
Please continue to watch for updates including public hearing opportunities as the bill advances through the Wisconsin State Legislature this fall.  You can track this and other legislation here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/.



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SHRM A-Team:  Countdown to 10,000

Submitted by:  Jeff Palkowski, Director of Government Affairs GMA SHRM and SHRM Advocacy Captain (Wisconsin 1st CD)      
 

GMA SHRM Director of Government Affairs and SHRM Advocacy Captain Jeff Palkowski with House Speaker Paul Ryan meeting in district to discuss SHRM’s Workflex in the 21st Century Act.

The SHRM Advocacy Team (A-Team) is nearing a milestone of 10,000 members.  The SHRM A-Team was founded five years ago by SHRM Government Affairs to provide human resources professionals with a means to be informed about public policy issues that impact their workplace as well as provide team members with a way to make their voices heard in both Washington, DC and their state capitals across the country.
 
At a recent SHRM Advocacy Team Webinar, Meredith Nethercutt, Senior Associate of Member Advocacy and SHRM A-Team Director reported that there were currently 9,434 active members on the SHRM A-Team.  This number includes over 700 Advocacy Captains covering all 435 congressional districts across the nation.  The goal is to surpass 10,000 members by year end.
 
The SHRM A-Team members have been busy developing credible and influential relationships with their elected officials to inform legislators about policy impacts on both employers as well as employees in their respective congressional districts.  As a local example, I had the recent opportunity to meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Congressman Paul Ryan in his district office to discuss a proposed bill (developed with and supported by SHRM) which would provide employers with a voluntary way for employers to expand paid leave and workplace flexibility opportunities for all employees while satisfying all state and leave requirements.  The “Workflex in the 21st Century Act” is expected to be introduced by Representative Mimi Walters of California by year end.  In my brief meeting with Speaker Ryan, we discussed the pending legislation as well as the role of SHRM in advocating for the human resources profession worldwide.
 
Joining the SHRM A-Team allows you to receive regular updates and information from SHRM Government Affairs and also provides you with opportunities to reach out to your elected officials to advocate for issues that may be important to you, should you choose to do so.  If you are interested in helping the SHRM A-Team reach their goal of 10,000 members by year end by becoming a member, please visit the SHRM Policy Action Center for more information and to find out how you can get informed and involved with SHRM.

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IRS Announces 2018 FSA Limit

Submitted by:  Mary Wilkosz, HR Specialist, Therma-Stor LLC

The IRS announced the maximum allowable contribution rate for 2018 Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) on Thursday, October 19th, 2017.  The maximum contribution amount has been increased to $2,650.00, a $50 increase compared to the 2017 maximum contribution amount of $2,600.00.  The Dependent Care FSA maximum allowable contribution amount remain at $5,000.00 for 2018. 
 

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Compensation & Benefits

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Professional Development

Workforce Readiness & Diversity

 

Welcome New Members!

GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in September 2017!

Rebecca	Nissen
Tricia	Shields		Naviant, Inc.
Miranda	Bucalo	SHRM-CP, PHR	CapSpecialty
Laisha	Rowell		Boys & Girls Club of Dane County
Amanda	Utz	SHRM-CP, PHR	Midwestern BioAg

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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 .