Professional Development

Continuing Education and Professional Development

Continuing education for the Human Resource Management profession is not just a recommended pursuit. It's the professional's lifeline. With the growing number of Federal and State laws and regulations, not to mention case findings as these laws are applied and interpreted by the courts, training and development opportunities offer the primary source of protection through knowledge.

EPSHRM will post HR-related Professional Training and Development opportunities here. For more information or to post, please feel free to contact the 2010 Vice President of Programs, Ceci Davila, at ceci.davila@gecu.org.

Diversifying Your Workforce

The Department of Labor has issued a Four-Step Reference Guide to Recruiting, Hiring, & Retaining Employees with Disabilities. Please click on the picture below to download a PDF version of the guide.

Military Spouse Job Site

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce have re-launched a job search site for incoming military spouses: www.elpasojobregister.com. As part of the partnership, Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande funds the site while the Greater Chamber of Commerce assists in employer engagement and recruitment.

For more information, please click here or on the picture below.

Job Worries? Consider Skills Training

At a time of deepening economic concerns, encouraging more young Texans to get the appropriate training to fill the available positions in the skilled trades becomes even more important than in good times. We need to match skills training to the needs of the modern workplace, and that doesn’t necessarily require a four-year college degree.

To find out more, please click here.

Tips for Employers: How to Ensure Compliance with the ADA Amendments Act

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 may require businesses take extra steps to ensure their compliance within the ADA. The Amendments reinforce the original intent of the ADA and directly attacks some key decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court, which effectively narrowed the definition of disability under the ADA. Employers in some states such as California, New Jersey and New York will have little to change because their state laws are more expansive than the amended ADA.

Employment lawyer Burton Fishman recommends that employers nationwide do the following:

1) Review their policies and procedures to assure an interactive process when accommodating individuals with disabilities;

2) Reassess their job descriptions ensuring the accuracy of essential job functions and designate which functions may require accommodations; and,

3.) Ensure procedures exist for keeping records of accommodation requests, determination of such requests, and information explaining the determinations made.

Full Story:

Burton J. Fishman Fortney & Scott, LLC, More Workers Protected from Disability Discrimination under ADA Amendments Act, HRHero.com, October 3, 2008, available at http://www.hrhero.com/hl/100308-lead-ada_amendments_act.html.

Texas Employment Law Handbook

Trying to Keep-Up with Ever-Changing State Employment Law Issues?

Find all the answers in just one book published by the Texas State Council of SHRM and the Texas Association of Business — the leading human resource and business authorities in the State of Texas.

Answers at Your Fingertips

Looking for an answer for your latest employment dilemma? Look no further than the Texas Employment Law Handbook. The Texas Employment Law Handbook is the ONLY Handbook written by Texas Labor Law Attorneys that focuses exclusively on the needs of Texas employers.

The Texas Employment Law Handbook delivers practical, hands-on advice that you need to keep your business in compliance with the ever-changing state and federal labor laws. It is available on the worldwide web, so no matter where you are or what you are doing you can have the answers.

The Texas Employment Law Handbook arms you with the information you need to keep you out of the courtroom.

Earlier this year as well as last year, many critical cases were decided that affect how you deal with employees and how you run your business. The 2007-2009 Employment Law Handbook puts all these new changes together with other in-depth advice.

The Texas Employment Law Handbook is now being published every two years. You will be updated on crucial changes within that time period via email. Otherwise a full update of all the employment law revisions will be available in the 2009 edition.

Cost: $160.00. It pays to be a member of SHRM in Texas. If you are an at large member or a member of one of our 35 affiliated chapters in Texas, you save $100 when you purchase an Employment Law Book.

View Chapter Summaries

If you haven't ever taken advantage of TSC-SHRM / TAB’s Employment Law Handbook, chapter summaries and author information are now available, click here.

RISK-FREE Guarantee

The Texas Employment Law Handbook has been published since 1989. From Texas payday rules to Workers' Compensation, all chapters are researched and written by board-certified labor law attorneys. So if you aren't satisfied, simply return the book within 30 days for a refund. After the 30-day trial period, subscribers will automatically receive a password to access the web edition of the book.

Use the book that is available in every Texas Court Library to reference employment-related cases.

Call (214) 354-8740 to place your order for the 2007-2009 Employment Law Handbook

Or Download a Fax Order Form

Compensation and Benefits Surveys

Dear Members,

The El Paso SHRM (EPSHRM), along with the Texas Compensation Alliance, has partnered with WageAccess® to provide you with current and accurate online salary and benefits survey results at an extremely competitive price. The Texas Compensation Alliance is comprised of the SHRM Texas State Council, the Texas-based local chapters of SHRM and the Texas-based compensation associations.

Sign-up today at http://www.TexasCompensation.com

Survey Features:
    • Online survey participation and results
    • 900+ benchmark positions
    • 1,500+ participating organizations in the State of Texas
    • 11,000+ participating organizations across the United States
    • Quarterly updates to survey results (participation required once annually)
    • Ability to select and filter survey results by any combination of:
        o Geographic Location (national, regional, state and local areas)
        o Industry
        o Number of Employees
        o Annual Revenue
    • Comprehensive set of descriptive statistics and trends
    • Extensive variety of compensation analysis tools include:
        o Quartile analysis
        o Percentile ranking
        o Market analysis
    • Incentive pay and pay practices results are included
    • Benefits survey results are also included

All This for One Low Price!
Subscribe using a special EPSHRM promotion code TX9202 to receive the annual survey subscription at a discounted rate. Once data has been submitted and payment received, you can immediately view survey results comprised of data collected in previous quarters of the survey.

Annual Survey Subscription Member Price Non-Member Price

Survey Participant $349.00 $499.00

Non-Participant $699.00 $899.00

Participate in the Survey
If you have not yet participated in the survey, it's not too late. Since the survey results are updated quarterly, your data can still be included. For more information go to www.texascompensation.com or contact us at (866) 926-9400 or customerservice@wageaccess.com.

Remember, this is your survey! Your participation makes this resource the valuable member benefit that it is. We hope we can count on you to support our efforts to provide the best salary-planning tool available in the State of Texas.