HR Matters

Texas SHRM

Houston Chronicle
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

If there have been any changes in your volunteers, report them to your Regional Administrator. Keep SHRM informed of any changes to volunteer e-mail addresses, contact information, and role changes.

Host a workforce readiness program (see workforce readiness best practices in the SHAPE planning workbook for other ideas).

Super mega and 100% chapters are allowed two e-blasts per quarter to promote their activities to all SHRM members in the chapter’s ZIP code range. Complete the online request form in the VLRC. 

Consider joining SHRM Connect and starting a group for your chapter members to communicate. Promote HR Certification Institute certification on your chapter website. Promote the SHRM Foundation Regional Scholarships; applications due in July.

Check the LeadersEdge blog for news and updates from SHRM. Determine if your organization will be submitting a Pinnacle award – applications are due in early September.

 
Resource Associates
NEWS

WGU Texas has partnered with the Texas State Council to offer $2,000 "Go Further in HR Scholarships".

These scholarships are designed for motivated HR personnel who wish to continue their education and earn a bachelor's or master’s degree.

WGU Texas Business College offers MBA degree programs in addition to a B.S. in Business Human Resource Management degree that provides expertise in the management of people at work, giving HR professionals the skills and knowledge to become an effective HR manager and staff specialist.  This program covers the six categories that make up the HR Body of Knowledge established by the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) and as part of this program, students are required to pass one of two HR-specific, recognized industry exams:

•             The Professional in Human Resources (PHR) Certification Exam (administered by HRCI)

 OR

•             The Assurance of Learning Exam (administered by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)).

 WGU Texas is a nonprofit, online university designed to expand access to higher education and meet the education needs of busy adult learners.

Here's why you should consider WGU Texas:

•             An innovative, competency-based approach to education designed to let you take advantage of your prior experience and possibly accelerate your program.

•             Personalized, one-on-one faculty support.

•             A nonprofit university with affordable, flat-rate tuition.

•             Regionally accredited online bachelor's and master's degrees in health professions (including nursing), business, information technology, and teacher education.

•             Federal financial aid and scholarships available to those who qualify.

•             No set class times. Study anytime, anywhere.

For eligibility requirements and to apply for the Go Further in Human Resources Scholarship, visit http://texas.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/scholarships/gofurther_hr_overview.

Or Contact:

Dr. Wendi Prater, Austin 512-934-0663
Linda Harris, Dallas 972-841-2440
Kristian Fitzgerald, Houston 832-723-7463
Joe Rodriguez, San Antonio / El Paso 210-204-2738
WGU Texas Community Relations Team

 
We would like to invite you to participate in the ninth annual Best Companies to Work for in Texas program to find out if your company is a "best place to work!"  The 2013 Best Companies to work for in Texas is a survey and analysis program dedicated to identifying and recognizing the best employers in Texas.  This is the only state-wide program of its kind for Texas and it is fully supported and endorsed by the publishers of Texas Monthly, the Texas Association of Business (TAB), the Texas State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (TSC-SHRM), and Best Companies Group.  The rankings of the list-making companies will be revealed for the first time at a special awards event in April 2014.  Profiles of the list-making companies will also be highlighted in a special publication of Texas Monthly to be released in conjunction with the event. 
 
Please visit www.BestCompaniesTX.com for more information and a registration form.  The registration deadline is August 30, 2013. 
 
Best Companies Group manages the process and will be conducting thorough assessments of all the registered companies including a survey of the Texas-based employees.  The survey process is made up of 2 surveys: 1) Employer Benefits & Policies Questionnaire and 2) Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey. You can choose to survey your employees online or use our traditional paper survey process.  You can find a description of the assessment, registration fees and survey process under Assessment Process, and answers to most of your questions under the FAQ’s on the website.  Please visit the Timeline for upcoming dates and deadlines.
 
While determining who makes "the list" is very exciting and extremely beneficial to the ranked companies, the Best Companies Group Employee Feedback Report is where the real value lies.  All participating companies will receive the results of the employee survey, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of their workplace according to what their employees had to say.  This is a great way to identify the opportunities that exist to build a better workplace!  As an added value, each company will receive benchmarking data, which may be used to compare oneself to the list-making companies and the overall participants.   
 
For samples of our surveys and reports please review the Best Companies to Work for in Texas website at www.BestCompaniesTX.com under Survey & Reports Samples.
 
Please call Jackie Miller at 877-455-2159 x271 or email her at JackieM@BestCompaniesGroup.com with questions.
 
Staffing Soft
CHAPTER CHATTER
Mark your calendars! The Fourth Annual Strategic Mindset event is in the planning stages now. This fall conference will be held on Friday, September 20th at the Riley Center on the campus of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1701 W., Boyce, Fort Worth, TX 76115. This day-long event begins at 7:30am and is specifically focused on earning the often elusive HRCI STRATEGICcredits. Watch for more information coming soon or visit www.fwhrma.org.
 
On behalf of the North Texas SHRM chapter, I would like to thank everyone that participated in our recent SHRM Foundation fundraisers. As a result of everyone’s participation, we raised $1000.00. This is a record for our chapter!
 
The SHRM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management,  is globally recognized for shaping human resources through leadership and research. Its work includes:
         Strategic thought leadership initiative
         Innovative academic research grants
         Scholarships
         Educational resources
Donations are vital for the organization to continue its work. Once again, thank you to everyone who participated.
 
Miriam Calderon, SPHR
Past-President
 

Certification Study Group Start Date August 6, 2013

The North Texas Society for Human Resource Management sponsors the Certification Study Group to assist HR professionals in preparing to sit for the Human Resource Certification Institute's certification exam that confers the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designations. The Study Group offers regular meetings with presentations by an experienced instructor and an opportunity to meet other professionals also studying for the exam. For more information contact Jana Bates at 940-898-3553.

August 22, 2013  The guest speakers for our monthly luncheon will be Erik Templin and Dale Brickert from the Hays Companies of Texas. The title of their presentation is Developing a Winning Health Plan Strategy to Survive Health Care Reform. The program has been approved by HRCI for recertification credit. For more information visit our website at www.northtexasshrm.org. 
 
DallasHR’s Workforce Readiness Committee has just teamed up with "Allies in  Service" (www.alliesinservice.org) to help veterans find civilian jobs as they transition out of the military.  Each DallasHR volunteer reviews and revises five resumes, then returns them to the veterans.  About 70 resumes have been revised and returned, and so far, two veterans have been hired into civilian positions.  Many more veterans will find employment under this collaboration. For more information, contact Neal England at nengland@proalt.com. 

Next, DallasHR was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal after its volunteers assisted with the New Friends New Life luncheon, which netted $450,000 for this organization that rescues women from slavery, human trafficking and prostitution.  DallasHR members continue to volunteer at NFNL (www.newfriendsnewlife.org) on weekday nights, and DallasHR’s immediate past president Bruce Waller is coordinating a September 23rd Golf Tournament to benefit the organization.  For more information, contact Lynne Stewart at Lynne@SUPERIORHIRE.COM or Nancy Drucker at nancy.drucker@airliquide.com.
 
Finally, DallasHR is now accepting nominations for HR Executive of the Year award.  This honor is bestowed to a VP of HR or higher for his/her impactful contribution to HR and the community.  The winner will be recognized at a luncheon on December 10th.  If you would like to nominate a deserving HR professional, go to www.dallashr.org/DallasHR/About_Us/HR_Exec_Award.aspx.  Nominations can be emailed to info@dallashr.org or faxed to 214-631-8775.      For more information, contact John Hagan at john@hr-lawgroup.com.
 



Jak se má

 

is what you may hear at our next South Texas SHRM meeting!!! 
Why? You ask, because it will be held in SHINER, TEXAS!!! 

That is "how are you" in Czech.

 South Texas SHRM will take a historical tour of the Spoetzl Breweryand host a Round Table session/meeting on the topic Corporate Culture at the famous - Werner’s Restaurant  on Thursday, July 11th  in Shiner, Texas.  

 
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
On June 14, 2013, Governor Perry signed an amendment to Texas’ Service Animal law by modifying Texas’ Health and Safety Code, Section 437.023 and its Human Resources Code, Section 121.002 et seq.  Major changes in the law include expanding the disabilities of individuals served by a Service Animal and imposing restrictions on questions that may be asked of individuals utilizing a Service Animal.

This new law introduces some significant risks to business owners in Texas and, although not designed as an employment law, could potentially impact the employment relationship.

The following notable changes become effective as of January 1, 2014:

1.  The law prohibits denying the admittance of a Service Animal into an area of a facility that is open to customers (and not used to prepare food) if the Service Animal is accompanied by a person with a disability or the Service Animal is in training and is controlled by an approved trainer.  (There is no definition of what "approved" means or who issues such an approval.)

2. The definition of public facility has been expanded to include retail businesses, commercial establishments or office buildings in which the general public may enter.  Facilities which might not be considered public would be those requiring a security code to gain access. Although the law focusses on third parties, i.e., customers, entering the property, there is no carve out for employees or independent contractors of the facility.

3.  One piece of positive news to the business owner is that the definition of a Service Animal is specifically re-defined as being a dog (rather than other animals) that has been specially trained or equipped to help a person with a disability.  The eliminates the possibility, at least under state law, of service horses or cats.

4.  The requirement in prior law that individuals with disabilities using Service Animals be trained by reputable and competent organizations involved in providing such Service Animals to the disabled, has been deleted. So long as an individual has a disability, he/she is allowed to have a Service Animal if that animal performs tasks directly related to helping the individual with his/her disability.

5.  The issue of what disabilities are covered presents some new challenges for the business owner.  In addition to individuals with obvious disabilities such as visual, auditory or physical impairments, the new law now extends its protections to individuals with seizure disorders, those with mental illnesses requiring prescribed medication and those with post-traumatic stress disorder.

6.  What rights do the business owner have when an individual with a Service Animal appears at the facility entrance?  The answer is very few.  The facility representative is not allowed to ask questions relating to the qualifications or certifications of the service dog except to determine the basic type of assistance provided by the animal. 

If the individual’s disability is not readily apparent for purposes of admittance, the facility representative is ONLY permitted to inquire about (1) whether the dog is required because the person has a disability and (2) what type of work the dog is trained to perform. No other questions are allowed.

It may be helpful for the business owner to be aware that under the new law service dogs that simply provide comfort or emotional support do not fall under the designation of  Service Animals. However, with the stringent limitations on questions that may be asked, a facility representative turning away a service dog because of the discernment that the dog is a "comfort" animal is certainly asking for the  involvement of the legal system.

7.  And, what might the involvement in the legal system look like?   For those who are found to have violated the law, the consequences are not to be ignored:  for those found guilty, a misdemeanor criminal penalty punishable by fine of not more than $300.00 AND 30 hours of community service with an entity primarily serving persons with disabilities.  In addition, the person who violates the law is deemed to have deprived the disabled individual of his/her civil liberties and is subject to a civil suit with a presumption of damages of at least $300.00.

8.  Applying a balanced approach, the law does penalize individuals who use Service Animals falsely with criminal sanctions of $300.00 and 30 days of community service. There is no right for the facility owner to sue the individual however.

Although this new law is no doubt well intentioned, and appears designed to improve Service Animal’s and their owner’s access to public facilities, the vagaries of the statute and its noteworthy penalty provisions practically guarantee that Texas courts will become extraordinarily involved in its interpretation.  Persons associated with these facilities who are accused of violating this new law probably will not relish having to pay for such judicial clarity.
 
The Methodist Hospital Wellness Services
Burnett Staffing Specialists
Ovation Health & Life Services
Naylor, LLC