October
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HR InTouchThe Monthly Newsletter of the Greater Madison Area SHRM |
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In This EditionPresident's Message Government Affairs & Legal Updates What’s Up Next Regarding the Federal Overtime Rule? Compensation & Benefits The 2017 GMA SHRM Compensation Survey Professional Development November Professional Development Summit - Legal Hot Topics and Government Affairs GMA SHRM Revealed - Featuring SHRM Jeopardy! Workforce Readiness & Diversity
GMA SHRM Has a Thriving Social Media Presence!
November Professional Development Summit -November 14, 2017 - Alliant Energy Center Session 1: Keeping Up with the Times: What's Scary and What's Not in Employment Law Session 2: Intermittent Leaves of Absence Under State and Federal Disability Laws GMA SHRM Revealed - Featuring SHRM Jeopardy! View the 2017 Calendar of Events! GMA SHRM Member News Spotlights Welcome New Members!
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Greetings GMA SHRM Members – Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors
Government Affairs & Legal Updates
What’s Up Next Regarding the Federal Overtime RuleSubmitted by: Jeff Palkowski, Director of Government Affairs GMA SHRM and SHRM Advocacy Captain (Wisconsin 1st CD) As just about every human resources professional is well aware, the salary threshold under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was poised to more than double from $23,660/yr to $47,476/yr as of December 1, 2016. A few days prior to the implementation date, Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction which prevented the change from going into effect, effectively halting the change until further notice.
Managing Divisive Politics in the WorkplaceOriginally published as a SHRM Employment Law article on February 27, 2017Brian Pedrow and Christopher Cognato Prior to the 2016 presidential election, media commentators expected the divisive political atmosphere that had permeated American society to dissipate after the vote. Months into President Donald Trump's administration, that is anything but the case. Instead, the manner in which national politics increasingly encroaches on our personal and workplace relationships appears to have become a new normal. The president's executive order attempting to ban certain refugees and foreign nationals from entering the country is a case in point. The order immediately triggered widespread protests, with opposition demonstrations dominating the news. Some demonstrations involved employees protesting hand-in-hand with their employers. For example, at several tech and media companies, including Google, employees staged walkouts with employer approval and attended rallies where company leaders spoke. Other people protested in defiance of their employers, including several professors at Clemson University, who went on a six-day hunger strike in response to what they perceived as the university's inadequate response to the president's order. Less publicized are the controversies human resource professionals are dealing with day in and day out—a heated break room conversation, an activist distracting co-workers or a manager's social media proclamations. Indeed, a recent study cited by The Washington Post found that, since November, about one-third of workers think their colleagues talk more about politics than about work! What can HR professionals do to foster a cooperative, productive work atmosphere that doesn't squelch individuals' right to have their opinions? Make Cooperation Key Find ways to reaffirm a principle that should already serve as a foundation for your organization's policies: The work environment should be a place of mutual respect where employees feel valued by their employer and peers (notwithstanding the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] general counsel's dislike of the use of the word "respectful"). Employees should also know that the organization expects that conversations and activities not related to work will not detract from what should be the primary focus—work. An important step in reaffirming these principles may be a message from the organization's leadership, perhaps delivered during an all-hands meeting. That message can reflect the organization's appreciation for workers' active citizenship while reminding them to cooperate with one another and not to allow political discussions to distract them or their peers from fulfilling their job duties. It also is an opportunity to remind them that, regardless of the topic, workplace conversations should not be of an uncooperative nature or discriminatory, provided that employees have the right to engage in protected concerted activity. Importantly, meetings and messages of this type should never aim to influence or control employees' political activity—which is prohibited by some state laws—but should rather reaffirm appropriate workplace behavior and a culture of cooperation without encroaching on employees' rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Some employers may consider a blanket ban on political conversation in the workplace, but be wary of this. Such a ban is difficult to police and may be overbroad. Employees have a right to discuss matters affecting their working conditions, and the lines between abstract political statements and observations about work often will be blurry. Besides refocusing employees on the importance of cooperating with one another, building a culture of respect also can help your company respond to employee activism. If employees have an opinion to share, there is usually no reason not to listen. It may be that your organization is in a position and wishes to take public action. If so, still take care to protect the rights of dissenters within the employee ranks from harassment and retaliation. Further, federal election law and the laws of several states prevent employers from providing substantial resources in support of employees' political activities or from imposing their own views. Therefore, consult with counsel when presented with large-scale activism. And, of course, it is acceptable to disagree with your employees' views, but when you do, make sure you communicate in a manner that demonstrates your respect for their engagement as private citizens. Review and Enforce Applicable Policies Second, review your company's applicable policies and be prepared to enforce them. Federal anti-discrimination law does not prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of political affiliation (though some state laws do), but the policies you have in place should help you prevent conflict from occurring and resolve it appropriately if it does. For example, a broad and clear anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policy will help employees understand what sorts of statements are prohibited in the workplace. In addition, a strong anti-harassment policy should include a clear reporting procedure. The procedure should detail the individual to whom complaints should be directed and be explicit in proscribing retaliation for complaints made in good faith. A description of this procedure and employees' confidence in it should serve as deterrents to conversations turning uncooperative. Just as important is having an up-to-date social media policy. In recent years, the NLRB has taken a keen interest in these policies, along with others affecting employee communications, even those maintained by nonunion employers. The NLRB has made it clear that employers may not control the social media activity of their employees. However, you may educate workers on how their activities may be perceived by others and remind them that your anti-discrimination and harassment policies apply even online. You also may wish to advise supervisors to exercise particular caution in their use of social media. While supervisors should be allowed to use digital platforms outside of the workplace, they must be cautious not to alienate employees with their messages. Address Unique Needs Third, be sure to consider your unique needs and those of your workers. Labor contracts, local laws and nonprofit status can all affect the way your company may respond to various forms of employee activism. Once you have determined a strategy, be sure to communicate with your employees. Showing respect for them by making your policies clear can go a long way toward engendering the cooperative spirit you are asking them to show toward one another. Brian Pedrow and Christopher Cognato are attorneys with Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia. Pedrow is president of the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. OMB Announces Review and Stay on EEO-1 Wage Reporting RequiremenSubmitted by: Mary Wilkosz, HR Specialist, Therma-Stor LLC The 2017 GMASHRM Compensation SurveySubmitted by: Dana Denny, Director of Human Capital Conference CommitteeGMA-SHRM is pleased to announce the newly redeveloped and expanded biennial Madison Area Salary Survey. For many years, GMA-SHRM has produced one of the largest salary surveys in the state. The 2017 Annual Salary Survey included data from over 60 organizations reporting base pay and total compensation for approximately 200 job titles at all organizational levels, including manufacturing, administrative support, blue collar, technical, professional, and managerial positions. In today’s global economy, because it is even more critical to ensure your organization is spending it’s compensation dollars wisely, having current external labor market information is the best method to knowing and understanding your positions worth and the current trends to correctly target merit increase budgets and salary range movement. In addition, accurately comparing organizational data to your competitors within the Madison labor market can only strengthen your position for either recruitment or retention efforts. The GMA-SHRM Salary Survey is a great value! You will receive data on over 200 different positions from over 60 Madison, WI area public and private sector organizations. Job families included within the survey include: Accounting Engineering Health Care Information Technology Legal Manufacturing and Skilled Trades Purchasing Human Resources Banking and Insurance Finance 2017 Survey Pricing: GMA-SHRM Members who participated in the salary survey will receive a copy of the salary survey report for a discounted price of $300.00; GMA-SHRM Members who did not participate may purchase a copy of the salary survey report for $600.00. Click here for more information and to purchase. Professional Development November Professional Development Summit - Legal Hot Topics and Government AffairsNovember 14, 2017 - Alliant Energy Center GMA SHRM Revealed - Featuring SHRM Jeopardy!The answer: Attending this will be fun, informative and awesome. Workforce Readiness & Diversity FutureQuest 2017Produced by the Dane County School Consortium and the Madison Metropolitan School District, FutureQuest 2017 will be held December 6, 2017 at the Alliant Energy Center. FutureQuest will provide approximately 5,300 middle school students with an opportunity to relate their current interests to future education and career opportunities found within 16 career clusters. Students who attend this event will be better prepared to choose high school classes that relate to their interests and strengths.
GMA SHRM Media Relations GMA SHRM has a thriving social media presence!Submitted by: Brittany Hanson, Director of Media Relations Committee Forward HRWant to know what’s going on in HR for the other areas of Wisconsin? WI SHRM has a new blog, Forward HR. Click here to take a look.
GMA SHRM News & Upcoming Events November Professional Development Summit - Legal Hot Topics and Government AffairsNovember 14, 2017 - Alliant Energy Center
GMA SHRM Revealed - featuring SHRM Jeopardy!Thursday, November 2, 2017 View the 2017 Calendar of Events!Get out your calendars and save these dates now for the 2017 GMA SHRM Programming and Networking Calendar! GMA SHRM Member News Spotlights Corporate Relations CommitteeSubmitted by: Shaun Thomson, Director of Corporate Relations
Welcome New Members!GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in August 2017!
In Transition
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 .
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