Introduction

As Human Resource Professionals, we are often called upon to not only follow employment laws, but interpret them and apply them to our workplaces. More than that, we are often called upon to respond to and give opinions of upcoming laws that will affect the ways that we do our jobs. We do that through letter writing campaigns, contacting our elected officials, and even attending legislative conferences in Austin and Washington, D.C.

As a basis for our profession, the various types of new and changed legislation that comes from Washington, D.C, Austin, and El Paso affect us greatly. Our 2016 Governmental Affairs Director, Gerry Legarreta, is constantly watching and communicating news to our membership. If you have anything you would like to share, please contact Gerry at governmentalaffairs.epshrm@gmail.com.

SHRM's Governmental Affairs Best Practices

In coordination with the SHRM Government Affairs (GA) department and in support of the SHRM Advocacy Team initiative, develop and implement a chapter outreach program to establish/enhance relationships with state and federal elected officials. Chapters are strongly encouraged to coordinate such efforts with the GA’s Senior Associate for Member Advocacy, ensuring consistency of SHRM’s messaging on current HR public policy matters.

Develop and implement (or maintain) an information sharing campaign to engage your members in the legislative process, which include tactics such as:

• Presenting, at least quarterly, a legislative update at chapter meetings
• Providing, at least quarterly, a legislative update in the chapter newsletter (either online or print)
• A chapter representative attends the SHRM Employment Law & Legislative Conference and participates in the Capitol Hill Advocacy Day:

1. Reporting back to the chapter on the conference and the Capitol Hill Advocacy Day is a great way to include the members in the experience.
2. Share what you learned on your Hill visit through your update column in the newsletter or in your update at the chapter meeting.

To learn more about SHRM Governmental Affairs Advocacy, there are a several resources available.

• Legal Issues
• Public Policy Advocacy