Nick Birkenhauer, Dressman Benzinger LaVelle PSC

We hope to see you on March 16^th!

Thursday, March 16, 2017

11:00a - 11:30a

Receptions Banquet & Conference Center

Speaker:  Sara Jackson, Cerkl

Thursday, March 16, 2017

11:30a - 1:30p

Receptions Banquet & Conference Center

Nick Birkenhauer, Dressman Benzinger LaVelle PSC

Since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016, the Supreme Court has been one justice short of its normal complement of nine justices.  With only eight members, several important decisions concluded in a 4-4 tie during the Court's last term, which ended in June 2016.  Perhaps sensing the uncertainty it faced, and wishing to avoid many more 4-4 ties, the Court granted  certiorari more sparingly for the current 2016-2017 term. And, the cases the Court has agreed to hear this term are generally not of the "blockbuster" variety. 

 

Nonetheless, the Court has agreed to hear two cases that could have important implications for employers.  Decisions in both cases are expected in the coming months.  The following is a brief summary of each of these two cases:     

 

• SW General v. NLRB, No 15-1251: The  Court will once again consider the President's authority to make agency appointments. This time, the Court will review whether the Federal Vacancy Reform Act gives the President's "acting" appointee the power to serve in that position until confirmed by the Senate. When President Obama appointed Lafe Solomon to serve as "acting" General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board in June 2010, the Senate later rejected Solomon's official nomination. Ultimately, Richard Griffin was confirmed as General Counsel and began serving on November 4, 2013. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Solomon served in violation of the Act between January 5, 2011 and November 4, 2013, and voided the NLRB's issuance of an unfair labor practice complaint against SW General during that time period. The Court will now decide whether Solomon became ineligible to serve as Acting General Counsel once the President nominated him to be General Counsel.

 

• McLane Co. Inc. v. EEOC, No. 15-1248: The Court will consider a case involving the EEOC's subpoena power during the course of an investigation. The case, out of the Ninth Circuit, involves the EEOC's investigation of sex discrimination allegations against McLane that arose when one employee failed several physical strength tests after returning from maternity leave. The EEOC broadened its investigation and requested personally identifiable information, including names, Social Security numbers and phone numbers, of thousands of applicants and employees. The Court will decide a narrow issue: whether the Ninth Circuit granted the District Court proper deference when reviewing a ruling that the EEOC's subpoena was not enforceable. The Ninth Circuit reviewed the District Court's decision "de novo"-meaning without any deference-and held that the information requested by the EEOC was relevant to the investigation. The Court will review this narrow issue and determine the proper level of deference for a lower court's ruling on an administrative subpoena. The clarification will be important for employers looking to quash or limit a broad - and likely costly - EEOC subpoena.

Stacey Miller, SHRM-SP, PHR, Diversity Co-Chair

Amy Hehman, SHRM-CP, PHR, Diversity Co-Chair

Bobbie Webster, SHRM-SCP

Director of HR & Operations 

Family Nurturing Center - Florence, KY

Bobbie received her SHRM-SCP in the winter of 2016. She met the experience, education and demonstrated competency and knowledge requirements established by SHRM. This included passing a comprehensive 4 hour exam. We asked her to shed some light on her experience and background.

How long have you been with your current employer/in your current role? Bobbie has been the Director of HR & Operations for nearly 8 years for the Family Nurturing Center in Florence. Her experience expands beyond this role with additional HR experience in other functions as well.

What made you pursue your SHRM-SCP credentials? SHRM is the world's largest HR professional society. She has been in the HR field for so long and has attended many NKY SHRM meetings that encouraged this. She knew she had the expertise and wanted to demonstrate her professional achievement to her employer and peers in the HR community. This will allow her to advance herself, become more marketable as well as add value to her position.

What did you do to prepare for the exam? Bobbie attended the 12 week preparation course at Gateway Community College in Florence. This was led by a tenured instructor that provided on the job scenarios and presented the body of knowledge material in a way that was easy to absorb. The learning style was blended, with face-to-face learning combined with online tutorials including practice exams. There were about 20 people in the classroom, which allowed students to form study groups and stay in touch for encouragement when taking the exam.

What piece of advice do you have for others to pursue their HR credentials? Don't wait or continue to put it off. Commit to pursuing your credentials sooner than later. It will open so many doors for you professionally and it will assist with helping you feel more confident.

Congratulations, Bobbie, and thank you for sharing your experience. Now that you have received your SHRM-SCP, it will be important to maintain your credentials by earing 60 professional development credits within a three-year recertification period. Please refer to the SHRM recertification handbook at shrmcertification.org for detailed information on the many activities that qualify for PDCs and you can begin documenting those activities on your recertification record right away at portal.shrmcertification.org (or via the new app). I've listed a few below to get you started.

These books are approved for recertification credit! Simply read the book, take and pass the book's quiz and receive 3.0 PDCs for SHRM Certification and 2.5 credit hours for HRCI. For more information on the program, visit the FAQs page. 

For any questions regarding certification or recertification, please contact :

Amy McElheney, SHRM-CP, PHR - [email protected]

Holly Fechtig, SHRM-CP, PHR - [email protected]

Michelle Cestaric, SHRM-SP, PHR, Membership Co-Chair

Membership wants to remind you to go to the new website and update your profile to include any new personal information, certifications or membership to National SHRM.

 

Don't forget to renew your National SHRM membership before NKY SHRM to receive the $100 discount for National SHRM members.  National SHRM is an excellent compliment to your local NKY SHRM membership.  National SHRM is the Globally recognized authority in Human Resources.  They offer tools for all HR related topics, including legal compliance, samples of forms, handbooks and job descriptions, compensation and benefits, to name a few.  NKY SHRM is the local affiliate who will compliment this National membership with networking opportunities, topical programming specific to our regional learning and development needs, and legal roundtables keeping you up on KY specific legislation and changes.

 

We value your membership and look forward to continuing to bring Human Resource Professionals together!

 

www.nkyshrm.org

www.shrm.org