Mohawk Valley Society For Human Resource Management: Central New York, Utica New York, Mohawk Vally, Upstate NY, New Hartford, Oneida, Herkimer, Rome New York

Click here for the March 2008 Legislative Blast.

FMLA UPDATES

Letters that members may sign and send in opposition to the FMLA. Please feel free to tailor the letter if you wish. Click here sample one. Click here sample 2.

Click here for the poster for the Military FMLA which needs to be displayed with the current FMLA poster (link also)

     http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/NDAAAmndmnts.pdf

New York State Division of Human Rights Poster

Click here for the NEW “NYS Division of Human Rights Poster” along with the link below.

     http://www.dhr.state.ny.us/pdf/NYS%20Human%20Rights%20poster.pdf#search="Poster"

Previous Legislative Blasts.

  Click here for the February 2008 Legislative Blast. Includes the Federal FMLA bill that was signed by the President in January 2008.

Click here for January 2008 Legislative Committee Information Blast.

Click here for the Legislative Blast provided at the September meeting,

Click here for the Legislative Blast provided at the June 2007 meeting for those of you unable to attend.

Click here to reveiw the Legislative Conference call held on Tuesday, July 10, 2007.

Below a link is provided to the new federal minimum wage poster which is due to be displayed in your workplace on July 24, 2007. The link will allow you to print out the size and color that works for you. If you need a pdf, please email info@mvshrm.org. MVSHRM can provide you with one.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm

Legislative Updates:

(1) Governor announces Workers' Comp. reform

http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/0227071.html

The legislation is being drafted and will be passed early next week.

(2) Federal Legislative Action Alert!

YOUR ASSISTANCE IS URGENTLY NEEDED! Please write your U.S. Representative today and urge him/her to vote NO on H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act, which the House of Representatives will consider during the week of February 26-March 2. We need your help to protect the private ballot rights of workers.

Background

Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employees are currently able to form or join a union in two ways:

1. Private ballot election administered by the National Labor Relations Board (the Board), or the

2. Submission of signed authorization cards to the Board from a majority of employees in a bargaining unit.

The latter process is known as "card-check," which is similar to signing a petition in favor of a union. In most cases, employees and employers agree to hold an election, after which the Board certifies a union as the bargaining representative if a majority of employees vote in favor of the union.

Legislation

H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act, introduced on February 5 by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), would amend the NLRA to change the way workers choose to become part of a union. The proposed measure would effectively eliminate the secret ballot election during union organizing campaigns by requiring the Board to certify any union that secures a majority of signatures through the card check process.

If H.R. 800 is passed, employees would lose their right to a Federal government-administered, private ballot election. Moreover, since the bill would make public an employee's position on a union to both their co-workers and employer, it could make the workplace more hostile by exposing the employees to coercion from both proponents and opponents of the union.

SHRM opposes the Employee Free Choice Act because it would take away employees right to a federally supervised, private ballot in union elections.

SHRM is a member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a partnership of employee and employer organizations that are advocating for workers right to a secret ballot when they are deciding whether or not to join a union. SHRM's opposition is based on the following aspects of the legislation:

· Union Certification through Signed Authorization Card.The bill would force employees to make public their meaningful decision on whether or not to support a union, which would be made known to union officials, their employer and their co-workers. HR professionals are deeply concerned that, by eliminating the secret ballot, the bill would actually take away an employee's private and "free choice" and may promote a hostile work environment for employees.

First Contract Arbitration:The bill would effectively send any bargaining disputes to binding arbitration after 120 days - 90 days of negotiations and 30 days of mediation on a first contract. HR professionals believe that binding arbitration is unnecessary because currently 94 percent of elections are held after only 56 days of bargaining. Thus, mandated arbitration would provide motivation for either a union or employer to engage in bad faith bargaining and delay until the end of the 90-day period, allowing an arbitrator to impose unwanted employment conditions on employees and managers.

Action Needed

Write or call your elected officials in Washington today! Your legislators need to know your views on this important matter before the private rights of employees are further harmed. To write your elected official using HRVoice, follow these steps:

1. Log onto SHRM Online by clicking here.

2. Sign in using your member number and last name.

3. Click on "Governmental Affairs," then go to "HRVoice" on the left side of your screen.

4. Choose "Write your elected officials."

5. Click on "Vote NO on H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act" under the heading "Take Immediate Action on these Hot Issues."

Click here for March 2007 Legislative Conference call.

Click here for January 2007 Legislative Conference call.

Click here for December 2006 Legislative Conference call.

Click here for October 2006 Legislative Conference call.

New York State 2007 minimum wage poster.

Please click below for the New York State 2007 minimum wage poster for posting in your workplaces. This is a required posting. You do not need to post it until January 1, 2007.

Click here.

2007 Goverment Contact List.

Please click here for an updated Goverment Contact list. You can also find the New York State Senator's and Representative's contact information by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

Equal Employement Opportunity Commission(EEOC) updates:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has revised the annual report it requires from private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more workers--for the first time since its inception in 1966. The new report is called the EEO-1. First, note that reports for 2006 are not affected.

Click here for article regarding changes in EEOC Legal Reporting .

Click here for article regarding EEOC 2007 changes.

Click here for HR Legislative Briefing and August 30th ,2006 legislative conference call notes.

Please see below legislative updates from the July 20th, 2006 conference call.

TO: New York State SHRM Chapter Legislative Representatives, Chapter Leaders & State Council Members

Our eighth 2006 legislative conference call was held on Thursday, July 20, 2006 from 11:30 to 12:00.

Agenda

Two events from earlier this week were noted. Yesterday, the federal courts in Maryland overturned the Maryland "WalMart Law," requiring WalMart to pay 8% of payroll for health care or the difference in tax to the state. It was overturned based on an ERISA pre-emption basis. This is significant since we had our own versions of this WalMart bill in play during the 2006 legislative session and we expect the issue of the uninsured to return next year with a new Governor. Here is information on the law. Here is more information on the decision. And more here, including a link to the Opinion and the Maryland Chamber's Amicus brief.

The second event was the Op-Ed in the July 17th WSJournal by SEIU national president Andy Stern announcing the end of employer-driven employee health insurance.He also challenged the CEOs from the Fortune 500 firms to provide leadership to solve the insurance crisis and that the leadersip needed must not come from Washington. It is a good read since it flies in the face of all we heard from the unions on health insurance during the recent Fair Share for Health Care hearings in Albany . Here is the Op-Ed. Here is Stern talking about it on his blog.

-HR Briefings in August

These two hour briefings will be expanded versions of the legislative updates presented to chapters and will include detailed analysis of several major proposals from 2006 and how they might affect your HR Policies and Programs. Chapter Legislative Representatives are urged to attend. Other chapter leaders and members are invited. Here is a link to the information, locations & dates and electronic registration.

"Inside the District" visit to Senator Schumer and Congressman Nadler on Immigration Reform

SHRM staffer Bob Carragher explained details of the plan to have a small group of HR professionals meet with Senator Schumer and Congressman Nadler in New York about the employer verification system being discussed as part of Immigration Reform. Bob is awaiting a response from each office for appointment opportunities. Sue Matton from Plattsburgh is interested in the Schumer visit. Rob Potorski from Long Island is considering attending both meetings. The meetings would be during recess, probably between the 2nd week of August and the 2nd week of September.

Open Discussion on plans for HR Voice in Albany Day - April 16-17, 2007

Tom suggested getting started on a numerical attendance goal in each chapter and plans for a recruiting effort. Most chapters are off for the summer but Chapter Boards do their annual planning during this time. Get this goal on the list early in the chapter planning process.

Our next conference call is scheduled for Thursday, August 31, 2006 at 11:30 AM. Please immediately note that time and date and plan to participate or get other chapter Leaders if you won't be available. A phone number and passcode will be forthcoming.

We have 17 chapters in NYS. Let's have all participate in the August 31st call!

Submitted by:

Tom Minnick SPHR
SHRM New York State Legislative Action Director
The Business Council of New York State, Inc.

152 Washington Ave.

Albany, NY 12210-2289
Phone: 518/465-7511 x210
Fax: 518/465-4389

Albany, NY 12210-2289 Phone: 518/465-7511 x210 Fax: 518/465-4389

tom.minnick@bcnys.org

_______________________________

Please see below topics for other important Legislative Information.

Spotlight on Massachusetts new health insurance law.
Masschusetts has boldly gone where few states have dared to trod with a new health insurance law.
Click here for details

Need to contact your Congressional Representative ?
Click here to for New Yorks State Congressional Contact information.