August 2026

Valley Society for Human Resource Management (VSHRM) serves the Great Lakes Bay Region and beyond, supporting HR professionals through education, networking, and leadership development. We’re your local resource for HR knowledge, community, and growth. Learn more and get involved at https://vshrm.shrm.org/ 

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MEETING & REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Please register by Thursday, August 6th, to assist with any food allergy needs!

This meeting is part of the 2025-2026 Fast Pass! If you have VSHRM's Fast Pass and attending this meeting, please register today!

Valley SHRM is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification activities.

President's Message

Childcare is no longer a family issue—it's a business advantage.

As we close out the 2025–2026 Valley SHRM program year, there's much to celebrate—and one more great program ahead.

Our June meeting with Andre Young was one of the most successful in Valley SHRM history. The record attendance and energy in the room reflected what makes our chapter special: professionals coming together to learn, connect, and support one another.

Our chapter is stronger because of the range of professionals it brings together—across industries, roles, and experiences—each supporting employees and building successful workplaces.

We hope you'll join us August 11 for our final meeting of the year, featuring Sharon Ragland-Keys from Jovie—another chance to connect with professionals across our region and finish strong.

Reflecting on this past year, I'm continually amazed by the passion, generosity, and collaboration of our members, volunteers, Board of Directors, speakers, and Resource Partners. Each has contributed to our chapter's growth, and I'm sincerely grateful.

Even as we wrap up one year, we're preparing for the next. Our Board is developing another strong lineup of programs, networking opportunities, and resources for 2026–2027. Read this newsletter for details on our Resource Partners and the upcoming Fast Pass and Event Pass. And, keep an eye on our website for updates!

Your feedback shapes that planning. We've reopened the Valley SHRM Experience Survey—please share your thoughts if you haven't yet. For every 25 completed surveys, one participant is randomly selected for a virtual gift card. Thanks to a generous donation from Reward Builder, we have five more to award. Check out below for the first person who already won a gift card for completing the Valley SHRM Year-End (Experience) Survey.

Serving as your Valley SHRM President continues to be an incredible privilege. Thank you for your participation, encouragement, ideas, and commitment to our professional community. Valley SHRM has always been more than an association. It's a community that supports one another and helps strengthen workplaces across our region—and I'm grateful to be part of it.

I hope to see you August 11 as we celebrate another successful Valley SHRM program year and look forward to everything ahead.

Wendy Yelsik, PHR, SHRM-CP

Human Resources Director | Fabiano Brothers, Inc.

President, Valley SHRM

📱 (989) 621-4819

🔗 LinkedIn

Our Resource Partners make so much of what we do possible. Their generosity supports our programming, strengthens our chapter, and connects our members to expertise and solutions that matter in the HR profession. We're grateful for their continued investment in Valley SHRM and in the HR community we serve together.

Please join us in thanking our 2026 Resource Partners:

• Gold — Brown & Brown
• Silver — ASE (American Society of Employers) and Marsh McLennan Agency
• Bronze — Jovie Nannies + Sitters and Wildfire Credit Union

We encourage you to learn more about each partner and the value they bring to our members.

Interested in becoming a Resource Partner? Please contact Ricardo Resio!

One Pass. Every Meeting. September–August.

Looking to attend VSHRM meetings all year long? We have two easy ways to do it.

Our Fast Pass is a single purchase that covers your seat at every monthly meeting and seminar for the entire program year — September 2026 through August 2027 — at a discounted rate compared to paying for meetings individually. It's the simplest, most affordable way for members to attend. New this year, the Event Pass offers non-members that same full-year access without a membership commitment.

While VSHRM membership now requires an active SHRM national membership under our move to dual membership (DMR), we still warmly encourage non-members to join us at our meetings. The Event Pass makes that easy.

If you have a question about whether you're a current VSHRM member, please contact us at membership@vshrm.org or through the Contact Us page on our website.

Watch for full details and pricing soon!

Welcome to the VSHRM Dual Membership Community!

This year marked an exciting milestone for our chapter with our move to dual membership (DMR) — bringing VSHRM and SHRM national membership together under one connected community.

We're pleased to recognize the members who have joined us under the SHRM DMR program:

Angelica Aguilar, Amy Ames, Jeffrey Bodrie, Dean Evans, Alicia Fonzi, Rhonda Griggs, Phillip Hale, Courtney Loomis, Christa Louks, Tonia Nutt, Cara Petoskey, Rachael Phipps, Heather Resmer, Daniel Rinke, Samantha Roth, Lynette Ryan, Alicia Shivers, and April Yennior.

We're grateful to have each of you as part of our growing community of HR professionals — representing employers of all sizes across the Great Lakes Bay Region. The move to dual membership connects us more closely with SHRM while keeping the local relationships and learning that make VSHRM special. Together, we're building a stronger, more connected chapter than ever before.

We encourage everyone to join us at an upcoming meeting, get involved, and reach out anytime with questions. Thank you for being part of VSHRM.

Celebrating Our Renewing Members

Just as we're welcoming new members, we're also celebrating those who are renewing — and the process is working just as we hoped.

To make the transition to DMR as smooth as possible, VSHRM gave every member a dues holiday — waiving chapter dues from January 1 until each member's SHRM membership came up for renewal. It was our way of easing into the new structure without asking anyone to pay twice or renew before their time.

Since then, we've been thrilled to see that renewal is becoming a natural part of the process. More than 65 members have renewed their VSHRM membership under DMR — a wonderful show of commitment to our chapter and to the HR community across the Great Lakes Bay Region.

If your SHRM renewal date is still ahead of you, there's nothing you need to do just yet — your dues holiday continues until then, and renewing will be simple when the time comes. And if you have questions about your renewal or membership status, we're always happy to help at membership@vshrm.org or through the Contact Us page on our website.

Thank you for renewing, for growing with us, and for being part of what makes VSHRM special. Here's to a strong year ahead — together.

Is your membership expiring soon? Renew today at https://affiliate.shrm.org/vshrm/en

Congratulations to the first winner of our VSHRM Year-End Experience Survey gift card drawing!

Nikki Daisy Berghoff - Congratulations! 🏆

The survey is still open, and we want to hear from you. If you have not yet participated, please complete the survey today for your chance to win a $25 gift card. Your feedback will help VSHRM improve the programs, resources, and experiences we provide to our members.

A special thank-you to Reward Builder for generously supporting our survey! For every 25 completed surveys, Reward Builder is donating one $25 gift card—up to five gift cards total. That means the more responses we receive, the more winners we can celebrate!

Share your feedback today for your chance to be one of them! Survey located at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/vshrmsurvey2

Unemployed Michigan workers must now complete three weekly work search activities to receive benefits

Beginning July 19, 2026, Michigan workers receiving unemployment benefits must complete and report three work search activities each week, an increase from the previous requirement of one. This update is part of bipartisan changes to Michigan’s unemployment law under Public Act 238 of 2024. Work search activities may include job applications, job fairs, creating or updating online profiles, or participating in job‑search workshops. Claimants who do not complete and report all three activities will not receive payment for that week.

Additional changes effective July 17–19 include:

• Individuals who leave work due to domestic violence may now qualify for benefits.
• Workers and employers may request certain appeal cases be combined into one hearing.
• Claimants repaying benefits may apply for a financial hardship waiver up to four times per year.
• Employers using Work Share may now reduce hours between 10% and 60%.
• Companion legislation increased maximum benefit weeks from 20 to 26, and the maximum weekly benefit rate will rise from $530 to $614 on Jan. 1, 2027, with future adjustments tied to the Consumer Price Index beginning in 2028.

The UIA encourages claimants to report work searches through MiWAM and offers resources including the Claimant Roadmap, online coaching sessions, an AI‑powered chatbot, and public dashboards. More information is available at Michigan.gov/UIALawChanges.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Jury Verdict Finding that Employer did not Owe Overtime to Employee because it Lacked Actual or Constructive Knowledge of Overtime Worked

Submitted by David Bryce, McGraw Morris Masud

In Merritt v. Tex. Farm Bureau, 166 F.4th 490 (5^th Cir. 2026), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict finding that the plaintiff was not entitled to overtime pay because his employer lacked actual or constructive knowledge of the overtime hours allegedly worked. 

Merritt was employed by Texas Farm Bureau (“TFB”) as an Agency Manager who supervised several insurance agents at various TFB locations. TFB classified Merritt and other Agency Managers as independent contractors and accordingly did not require him to track his hours or otherwise supervise the hours he worked. It also allowed him to work as many or as few hours as he deemed necessary.   

In 2019, Merritt challenged his classification as an independent contractor and sought unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act as an employee. The district court ruled that Merritt should have been classified as an employee and that he was owed 816 hours of overtime. The sole issue for trial was whether TFB had notice of those overtime hours. 

After the jury ruled against him, finding that TFB was not liable for overtime because it lacked actual or constrictive knowledge of the overtime he worked, Merritt appealed to the Fifth Circuit. On appeal, he argued that because TFB allowed him to work unlimited hours, it was obligated to pay him for overtime, and its knowledge of his overtime work was irrelevant. The Court rejected this argument, noting that it had consistently held that an employee claiming overtime pay must prove their employer had actual or constructive notice that the employee was working overtime hours. 

Next, Merritt argued that because TFB did not use a timekeeping system, constructive knowledge of his overtime hours should be imputed to it. The Court rejected this argument as well, noting that an employer’s failure to maintain a timekeeping system does not by itself constitute constructive knowledge of an employee’s overtime work.  

COLLEGE RELATION NEWS

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VSHRM FINANCIALS

Submitted by Patty Alfano, VSHRM Treasurer