A grassroots organization

HR Magazine, June, 1996

The high level of activity within the Government and Public Affairs Department during 1995 illustrates the Society's strength as a membership organization. Thanks to strong grassroots support, the SHRM-led Congressional Coverage Coalition was victorious in its efforts to seek passage of the Congressional Accountability Act. The Coalition will continue the fight to ensure that lawmakers abide by the same labor laws they apply to private-sector employers.

SHRM also made significant progress with reform of the Fair Labor Standards Act during 1995, highlighted by a House subcommittee's passage of a compensatory time bill.

The Society provided testimony or comments to Congress a record 25 times during 1995, including testimony on the need for performance management in the federal government. A powerful motivator behind the Society's legislative and legal success can be found at the grassroots level. Grassroots involvement plays a crucial role in giving human resource professionals a voice in shaping federal and state policy. In fact, grassroots activity has led many states to consider enacting laws to protect employers who give accurate references about former employees.

In 1995 the grassroots network grew to 1,600 key contacts. Many of those members were actively involved in the 1995 Legal and Legislative Conference held in Washington, D.C., which attracted more than 250 attendees.

The Society's voice is heard around the globe in the world's newspapers and on television and radio programs. The Public Affairs Department received more than 1,100 media calls during 1995 and several hundred queries through the SHRM Home Page's press release section. Highlights of the year included stories featuring SHRM in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, as welt as on C-NBC, National Public Radio and numerous other media outlets.

SHRM Foundation funding enabled the Public Affairs Department to revamp its strategic issues management program during 1995. A prominent outside consultant was hired to ensure that SHRM programs and services are future-oriented and provide members and the Society with meaningful information for shaping long-term strategies.

The issues management program is responsible for the Society's membership survey program, which conducted 1995's highly successful Reference Checking Survey. The survey produced new awareness about the need for meaningful job references and spurred SHRM grassroots volunteer efforts, which gave numerous state legislators the justification they needed to pass or consider passing laws that protect employers from lawsuits when they provide job-related reference information.

Legislative Updates

Chapter and state legislative representatives and members may call the Society's Government Affairs office at (703) 548-1305 to receive information about pending legislation. In addition, the department produces two newsletters, the HR State Insider and the Washington HR Insider, which are designed to keep SHRM volunteer leaders updated on pending legal and regulatory issues. Legislative updates are available on the SHRM Home Page also.

Government Representation

The SHRM Government Affairs staff monitors all congressional and executive branch actions that may affect human resource professionals. Through its volunteer leaders, the Society determines positions on pending legislation and regulatory issues. These positions are then communicated to Congress and government agencies.