December 2025

  

HR InTouch

The Monthly Newsletter of the Greater Madison Area SHRM

In This Edition

President's Message

By Ashley Kowalchuk, SHRM-SCP


Government Affairs & Legal Updates

Legal Update:The Fair Credit Reporting Act Applies to Employment Background Checks

Government Affairs Board Spotlight

Government Affairs Volunteer Spotlight
 

Compensation and Benefits


GMA SHRM Compensation Survey Now Available


Professional Development and Events


Save 50% On SHRM National Membership Now Through December 31, 2025!

Meet, Greet, and Eat
January 8th

Professional Development Summit
January 20th

2026 Wisconsin Workplace Policy Conference


Workforce Readiness, College Relations, Diversity & Inclusion


Second Harvest Foodbank Partnership Opportunities

Diversity Observances in December and January
 


GMA SHRM and Member News


GMA SHRM Retiree Membership

Welcome New Members!

Congratulations to our 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 year anniversary members!

 

 

 
 

President's Message

GMA SHRM
2025 Corporate Partners

Platinum Level
ADP
Boardman & Clark Law Firm
B2E Solutions
Hausmann Group
MH Imaging
Paylocity
The QTI Group
Quartz

Gold Level
The Alliance
Delta Dental
Fidelitec, LLC
MRA

Silver Level
Cottingham Butler
Edvest - Wisconsin's College
  Investment Plan
Group Health Cooperative
   South Central Wisconsin
Klaas Financial
Littler
Peak Retirement Group
Summit Credit Union
The Perk
Third Coast Advisors

Bronze Level
Carex Consulting
LIFT Consulting
M3 Insurance
Mission Workforce Alliance
Personify Health
Restaino & Associates Relocation
Robert Half
SustainableHR PEO
UKG
UW Small Business 
   Development Center

Thank you!
 
 


Hello GMA SHRM Members,

What a great year it’s been! As we wrap up 2025, there’s so much to appreciate and celebrate. From impactful events and programming to strong community engagement, college relations, and partnerships, your energy and participation have made our chapter stronger than ever.

Our January Professional Development Summit (PDS) will be in person this year! It’s been a few years since our last in-person January PDS, and we’re excited to bring everyone together again. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Registration will open soon.

Save the date for our annual Human Capital Conference on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at the Alliant Energy Center.

Visit the GMA SHRM Events Page to mark your calendars for upcoming PDS events, HR Roundtables, and more throughout 2026!

We are able to offer high-quality programming and events at no additional cost thanks to the generous support of our Corporate Partners. If your organization, or one you work with, is interested in becoming a 2026 GMA SHRM Corporate Partner, the deadline is the end of this month. Don’t delay – explore this great opportunity today!

This time of year also marks the start of our succession planning process. We’re always looking for members interested in serving on committees or in board leadership roles as the new board year begins in July 2026. If you’d like to get more involved and experience GMA SHRM in a new way, visit our Get Involved page or reach out to Wanda Manning, our President-Elect (wlmanning@wisc.edu).

As you wind down these final weeks of the year, I hope you take time to relax, recharge, and enjoy moments with loved ones. We look forward to seeing you in 2026!

From all of us on the GMA SHRM Board of Directors, we wish you and yours a safe, healthy, and joyful holiday season!


Warm Regards,

Ashley Kowalchuk, SHRM-SCP, PHR
President, GMA SHRM
ashley.kowalchuk@iconicacreates.com

 

Government Affairs & Legal Updates

The Fair Credit Reporting Act Applies to Employment Background Checks

Submitted by Submitted by Emmerson Mirus, Brian P. Goodman, and Storm Larson, Attorneys at Boardman & Clark LLP, a Platinum Partner


Brian Goodman
 
 Storm Larson
 
Emerson Mirus
Many employers contract with a company to perform comprehensive background checks on applicants prior to hiring (or after a conditional offer). When using a third-party background check vendor, employers must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Some employers use the state Department of Justice or search on CCAP to conduct background checks. Those searches don’t trigger FCRA, but employers should be cautious when relying on them since they often miss charges and convictions that took place outside of Wisconsin.

If FCRA applies, employers have to provide a compliant notice to the applicant prior to conducting the background check. If the employer is going to take adverse action against the applicant, i.e. not hiring them, based on the results of the background check, the employer has to provide compliant pre-adverse action and final action notices. Any adverse action must comply with state arrest and conviction record discrimination law.

Some employers rely on their background check providers to provide FCRA-compliant forms. However, FCRA compliance is the responsibility of the employer. Employers also have to notify their background check vendors for the vendors to provide pre-adverse action and final action notices. Otherwise, the provider will not know to send the notices out. Employers need to be aware of their obligations under FCRA and not rely solely on a third-party provider.



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Board Spotlight: Government Affairs Committee 

Submitted by Mai Xiong, Director of Government Affairs

The Government Affairs Committee helps to keep our members informed and connected to the ever-changing legislative and regulatory landscape impacting human resources. From crafting articles for the GMA SHRM newsletter to securing dynamic speakers for events like the November PDS and the Workplace Policy Conference, this committee ensures critical legal topics are front and center. Beyond education, they actively build bridges with local elected officials, creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue and collaboration with our members. Their work is all about turning policy into partnership: keeping you informed, engaged, and ready for what’s next.

Government Affairs Volunteer Spotlight - Dr. Barb Buffington
 

Dr. Barb Buffington serves as Director of Employee Services for the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, where she directs HR operations for a top-ranked district serving 7,100 students and 1,160 staff members. She joined GMA SHRM in December 2023 and began volunteering with the Government Affairs/Relations Committee in July 2025, drawn by her passion for public policy and her interest in strengthening employee relations.

Barb's career in public education spans over two decades and includes extensive experience in student and employee services leadership across multiple Wisconsin school districts. She holds a Doctorate in Education from Edgewood College and recently earned her SHRM-SCP in 2023. Her diverse background also includes a Paralegal Degree and experience working with the Delaware Attorney General's Office Felony Crime Division.

Barb enjoys working with processes and systems, and finds training and leadership coaching particularly rewarding aspects of her work. She appreciates the challenge of thinking through how to make operations run more smoothly while supporting the people involved.

What Barb values most about her involvement with GMA SHRM is the networking opportunities that extend beyond public employment. She appreciates connecting with HR professionals from various industries and looks forward to expanding her role within the Government Affairs/Relations committee. Barb encourages others interested in volunteering to start small. She first volunteered at the WI SHRM Statewide Conference in October 2024 and continues to volunteer at the annual conference before joining a committee that aligned with her professional interests.

Outside of work, Barb is a certified yoga instructor, avid hot yoga practitioner, and volunteers at the food pantry in DeForest.

Interested in learning more or joining the committee? Reach out to our Director of Government Affairs, Mai Xiong, at xiongm00@yahoo.com.
 

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Compensation and Benefits

2025 GMA SHRM Compensation Survey Now Available!

Survey release November 2025

Competition for employees across all industries is at an all-time high, leading to rapidly escalating salaries. The GMA SHRM Compensation Survey provides up-to-date local, regional and national benchmarks to help you get a better handle on this challenging labor market.

Local data available to GMA SHRM members for $95.
Region, State, and National Data also available.  

Conducted by Gallagher Surveys, this general industry survey collects base salary, bonuses, total cash, salary ranges and HR policy data for more than 180 jobs common across all industries.

Visit our Compensation Survey page for more details.


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Professional Development and Events

Save 50% On SHRM National Membership Now Through December 31, 2025!
 

  • Offer: New members can join SHRM at 50% off, exclusively through Chapters. 
     
  • Eligibility: This offer applies to new professional members only and cannot be combined with any other SHRM promotion. Student and other membership categories are not eligible.
     
  • Promo Code: New members should use the promo code: "NewMembersOnly" when signing up for membership and select your Chapter.
     
  • Be sure to select Greater Madison Area SHRM as your chapter to receive discount!
     
  • SHRM membership does not inlclude membership in GMA SHRM.


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Meet, Greet, & Eat 

January 8, 2026
La Brioche

Registration required.

Meet, Greet & Eat with your fellow GMA SHRM Members!

Share stories, interests and have some laughs over coffee or lunch!  A great way to connect, gripe and celebrate with your HR peeps that "get it"!

Click here for more details and registration.

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January Professional Development Summit 

January 20, 2026
Alliant Energy Center

 
Session 1:  Moments That Matter

Session 2:  Language Bias in the Age of AI

More Information and Registration

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2026 Wisconsin Workplace Policy Conference


Join us for Wisconsin SHRM’s 1.25-day Workplace Policy Conference, where HR professionals, business leaders, and industry partners unite to explore the future of workplace governance and public policy to honor past successes while driving the meaningful change needed to stay ahead of evolving workplace trends. This year’s event features dynamic keynotes, interactive workshop sessions, and a robust vendor and networking fair—connecting attendees with innovative partners and solutions that support compliant, agile, and future-ready workplaces.

More Information and Registration  (WISHRM Site)
  
 

 

Workforce Readiness, College Relations, Diversity & Inclusion

Second Harvest Foodbank Partnership Opportunities

Submitted by Lana Martin, HR Coordinator at UW Madison – University Health Services and Director of DEI

As a result of the recent government shutdown, over 40 million Americans were left without access to their SNAP benefits. Many families in our own community were deeply affected by this lapse of benefits, and are likely still experiencing food insecurity, so we’d like to take an opportunity to highlight the work of Second Harvest Foodbank. Second Harvest takes donations and purchases food to distribute to their over 300 partner agencies for direct distribution in their 16-county service area in Southwestern WI.

Here are some opportunities to partner with Second Harvest Food Bank or one of their partner agencies to assist families in your community experiencing food insecurity this holiday season.

Thank you to Cristina Johnson and Julia Wiebe of Second Harvest Food Bank for providing us the following information.

DIRECT NEIGHBORS LOOKING FOR SUPPORT:

  • Our Food Finder: This interactive map allows you to search for partner food providers or mobile pantries near you, it also includes a complete list of our partner agencies to support a local site in your area: https://www.secondharvestsw.org/find-food-near-you/
  • Call or visit 211 for information on broader community resources
  • For the most up to date information on the FoodShare Program, visit the DHS FoodShare News webpage. With questions, you can call the tool free statewide FoodShare helpline at 1-877-366-3635
 
DONATE:
  • Every dollar you give ensures we can respond quickly to this surge in demand, so that children, seniors, and families have healthy, nutrient-rich food. Your support helps us scale up emergency distribution and keep our community safe while federal systems remain uncertain.
  • If your company does corporate giving or employee-directed giving, please consider making Second Harvest the beneficiary of those funds.
VOLUNTEER- current needs at Second Harvest Foodbank:
  • Daily Food Repack in our Distribution Center: Sort, label and repack food into family-friendly portions for neighbors across our 16-county service area.
    (Monday–Saturday, 8:30–11:30 a.m. and 12:30–3:30 p.m.)
  • Join our Contact List if current openings to learn about added shifts and to be on our call list for last-minute cancellations/needs.
    • You’ll be notified when new shifts or openings become available to meet community needs.
 *Due to the high volume of inquiries, our ability to respond individually is much slower than usual. We truly appreciate your patience and understanding.

JOIN OR HOST A FOOD DRIVE:
  • Donations of non-perishable food: We encourage you to donate non-perishable, non-expired food items to your local pantry (see partner agency list above). This is the quickest route for food to get to family tables.
  • Food Drives: We are also encouraging food drives to support our WMTV Share Your Holidays (SYH) campaign, which is our largest community-driven collection and sorting event. You can contact our Community Giving Coordinator, David Heinrich, at David.Heinrich@secondharvestsw.org or visit our food drive resource page to get involved today! 

ADVOCATE:
When you advocate on behalf of those supported by Second Harvest, your efforts help raise awareness of Second Harvest’s mission, mobilize other community members, and express your public opinion around issues that matter to you. Check out the advocate page on our website to explore resources: https://www.secondharvestsw.org/advocate/

Thank you for your interest in supporting our community this holiday season!

December and January Observances

We encourage you to use observances we post monthly on our LinkedIn page. Let’s use this as an engagement tool to connect with others and practice inclusion!




Coming soon! 
Our DEI Ambassador Playbook is almost ready. This Playbook is our Committee’s contribution to our chapter as we strive to encourage ALL to become DEI Ambassadors to spread awareness of the importance of DEI not only in the workplace but in building all relationships, personally and professionally.

Please reach out if you are interested in contributing to our resources or becoming a member of our DEI Committee. We welcome all to join and make a difference within our community! Contact Lana Martin, Director of DEI, at deicommittee.gma@gmail.com for more information.

 

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GMA SHRM and Member News



GMA SHRM – Retiree Membership
 

Have you retired from a career in the HR profession or do you know someone who has?  Want to stay connected to friends and the profession while also giving back?  GMA SHRM now offers a Retiree Membership option.  Dues are discounted to $25 for a 12 month membership for all retired HR professionals. 

To qualify you need to have been employed in Human Resources and no longer represent a company.   We ask Retiree Members get involved and join a committee and/or participate in monthly HR Advice Network group meetings (roundtables). 

For more information, visit our Retiree Membership page.

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Welcome New Members!

GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in October 2025!
Amanda Bardosy PHR Clasen Quality Chocolate
Molly Curtin   QPS Employment Group
Angela Dock   Alliant Energy
Richard Downey SHRM-CP Village of Deerfield
Lizzie Druke   UW-Madison
Stephanie Fredrick SHRM-SCP Above the Bar Marketing
Signey Hanley   Catalent
Bradley Hefty   Boardman & Clark LLP
Kara Hetzel   Wind River payments
Nicole Weiss SHRM-CP Hospital Sisters Health System


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Congratulations to these members celebrating milestone anniversaries!
 

1 Year!  (2024)
Sarah Maier
Paige Jacoob
Kaitlyn Blanchette, SHRM-CP
Jennifer Sweeney
Lori Dorn, CLM
Brianna Quasius, SHRM-SP
Mike Kolozsi
Sara Capadona
Jim Smaciarz, HRCG

15 Year! (2010)
Beth Davison

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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 .



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