y Lunch May 14 your people, enrich your profits INSIDE THIS ISSUE: President’s Mes- sage 2 Welcome New Members 3 Agenda at a Glance 3 Board of Directors 5-6 2012 Program Schedule 7 PORTLAND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION November 2012 NEWS & VIEWS ~ Thursday, November 15th ~ Member Appreciation Event General Counsel Article 8 Special Interest Groups 16 Help recognize our PHRMA members and volunteers… …and we’ll recognize you in our event marketing! EVENT: An Evening in Paris DATE: Thursday, November 15 th TIME: 4:30 - 6:30pm PLACE: Doubletree Hotel-Lloyd Center *Free Parking* For your generous donation, you could receive entrance to the event, an ad in our newsletter, recognition in our pre-event advertising, and recognition at the event (depending on the level of sponsorship). And, of course, you’ll receive our sincere appreciation!! Event Sponsor: Various sponsorship levels available to support food, drinks, and location (Plus our Tour de France photo trivia game!) Wall Builder: Our popular Wall of Wine is back! Donate red wines (valued at $15 or more!) and whites (valued at $8 or more!) Raffle Weaver: Donate a basket to raffle (valued at $50 or more). All attendees have a chance to win your basket and your marketing message! (Raffle and Wall of Wine benefit the PHRMA Professional Assistance Fund and the SHRM Founda- tion) For sponsorship information contact: Tim Rasch - [email protected], 503.293.6440 or Alisa Brake - [email protected], 503-276-1937 Raffle prize and wine drop-off locations: Vancouver – Occuscreen, 805 Broadway Street, Suite 215, Attn: Pam Mack Downtown Portland – Regence, 200 SW Market Street, 11 th floor, Attn: Stephanie Anderberg West Portland – Larry Sherwood & Associates, 10220 SW Greenburg Road, Suite 225, Attn: Tim Rasch Volunteers Needed: We are also looking for PHRMA members to volunteer to help with the event planning and coordination. Please contact Alisa Brake at [email protected]or Marsha Warner at [email protected]for more info. (Continued on pg. 2) Membership Com- mittee 15 NHRMA Confer- ence Winners 12 Seeking Speakers for 2013 SMC 11 Advertising Infor- mation 17
Transcript
y Lunch May 14
your people, enrich your profits
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
President’s Mes-
sage
2
Welcome New
Members
3
Agenda at a Glance 3
Board of Directors 5-6
2012 Program
Schedule
7
PORTLAND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
November 2012
NEWS & VIEWS
~ Thursday, November 15th ~
Member Appreciation Event
General Counsel
Article
8
Special Interest
Groups
16
Help recognize our PHRMA members and volunteers……and we’ll recognize you in our event marketing!
EVENT: An Evening in ParisDATE: Thursday, November 15th
TIME: 4:30 - 6:30pmPLACE: Doubletree Hotel-Lloyd Center *Free Parking*
For your generous donation, you could receive entrance to the event, an ad in our newsletter,recognition in our pre-event advertising, and recognition at the event (depending on the levelof sponsorship). And, of course, you’ll receive our sincere appreciation!!
Event Sponsor: Various sponsorship levels available to support food, drinks, and location(Plus our Tour de France photo trivia game!)Wall Builder: Our popular Wall of Wine is back! Donate red wines (valued at $15 or more!)and whites (valued at $8 or more!)Raffle Weaver: Donate a basket to raffle (valued at $50 or more). All attendees have achance to win your basket and your marketing message!(Raffle and Wall of Wine benefit the PHRMA Professional Assistance Fund and the SHRM Founda-tion)
Raffle prize and wine drop-off locations: Vancouver – Occuscreen, 805 Broadway Street, Suite 215, Attn: Pam Mack Downtown Portland – Regence, 200 SW Market Street, 11th floor, Attn: Stephanie Anderberg West Portland – Larry Sherwood & Associates, 10220 SW Greenburg Road, Suite 225, Attn: Tim
Rasch
Volunteers Needed: We are also looking for PHRMA members to volunteer to help withthe event planning and coordination. Please contact Alisa Brake [email protected] or Marsha Warner at [email protected] for moreinfo.
(Continued on pg. 2)
Membership Com-
mittee
15
NHRMA Confer-
ence Winners
12
Seeking Speakers
for 2013 SMC
11
Advertising Infor-
mation
17
P A G E 2
Member Appreciation Event ~ Thursday, November 15th
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
With the holidays right around the corner it seems fitting thatNovember is PHRMA’s annual member appreciation event.This is our opportunity to recognize and say thank to our1,000+ members and countless volunteers who make our or-ganization thrive. Your dedication and passion for the humanresources profession has kept PHRMA at the leading edgeand one of the top SHRM chapters in the country. Despitecurrent economic conditions, we have continued to grow ourmembership and maintain a healthy balance sheet and finan-cial position. This tells me that we are doing something rightand is a direct result of the committed and dedicated volunteerleaders who make it happen.
Please join me on Thursday, November 15th from 4:30 –6:30pm at the Lloyd Center Doubletree hotel for a fun“Evening in Paris”! The evening will be filled with network-ing, wine, games, prizes, food, friends, laughter, and did I saya wall of wine! I will raise a glass and honor those who havetouched the lives of others by giving back to their profession,celebrate PHRMA’s accomplishments and most importantlythank you our members. I would also like to take this opportu-nity to personally thank the 2012 PHRMA Board of Directors& Chairs, SIG leaders, committee members, and volunteers –merci!
You will not want to miss this special evening where we bringtogether and thank all of PHRMA’s members, volunteers, andcommunity partners for their continued support and commit-ment to making PHRMA the distinguished chapter that it is.
Vive la PHRMA!
Christina York, 2012 PHRMA President
“We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by whatwe give.” ~Winston Churchill
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
2012 Monthly Program Schedule2012 Programs Schedule
DoubleTree Portland – Lloyd Center
Fees: $25 for Members, $40 for non members
Date Time Speaker/Topic Sponsor
January 18 11:30AM-1:00PM Panel Presentation
Strategic HR– Value Proposi-tion
February 15 11:30AM-1:00PM Michael Garone
Arbitration Agreements
March 21 11:30AM-1:00PM Emily Shults
This Year in Employment Law
Bullard Law
PSU
April 18 11:30AM-1:00PM Berry Kruijning
Building Effective Team Rela-tionships
Cosgrave Vergeer KesterLLP
Underdog Sports Leagues
May 16 8:00AM-4:45PM Strategic Management Confer-ence
June 20 11:30AM-1:00PMBrian Klepper, Ph.D
The Health Care Crisis
Ethicon Endo-Surgery
Allstate Insurance
July 18 11:30AM-1:00PM Dr. Tom Tursich
Desperately Seeking Balance
The Commerce Company
Waddell & Reed
August 15 11:30AM-1:00PM Panel Presentation
Oregon’s Legislative Process
The Commerce Company
Columbian Newspa-per/Monster
September 19 11:30AM-1:00PM Panel Presentation
HR Leadership Awards Panel
The Commerce Company
Hasson Company
October 17 11:30AM-1:00PM Eric Peterson
Diversity & Inclusion
Portland Relocation Council
November 15
(Thursday)
4:30—6:30PM Member Appreciation Event
December 12 11:30AM-1:00PM
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General Counsel Column
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
Michael Garone is a shareholder with Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt who has been practicing labor and em-ployment law in Oregon for over 30 years. He has litigated many cases before the NLRB and has extensivelitigation experience in trial and appellate courts throughout Oregon and Washington, including the Oregonand Washington Supreme Courts as well as the United States Supreme Court. In the last five years, Mr.Garone has taken two cases involving arbitration law to the United States Supreme Court.
USERRA: Make Sure Your Returning Veterans Get Back on the Escalator
With two major international conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan coming to an end, employers can expect in-creasingly difficult legal issues regarding veterans returning to the workforce. The Uniformed Services Em-ployment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) affords returning veterans substantial rights regardingreinstatement to their civilian jobs after a period of military service as well as protections against discharge.
A. Timely Demand for Reinstatement
Returning veterans hoping to obtain reinstatement to the civilian job they held before their military ser-vice must apply for reinstatement in a timely manner or they may forfeit their rights under USERRA. The ba-sic principle is the longer the military service, the longer the employee has to request reinstatement. For mili-tary service of up to 30 consecutive days, the returning veteran must report back to work on the first regularlyscheduled work period following completion of the period of service and safe transportation home, plus aneight-hour rest period. For a period of military service of between 30 to 180 days, the returning veteran mustsubmit either a written or verbal application for reemployment no later than 14 days after completion of theperiod of service, unless such application is either impossible or unreasonable for reasons that are not the faultof the returning veteran. For a period of military service of 181 days or more, the returning veteran must sub-mit an application of employment not later than 90 days after completion of military service. Of course, thedeadlines mentioned above may be extended by up to two years if a returning veteran was hospitalized for orrecovering from an injury or illness that was caused or aggravated by the military service. In any case, an em-ployee that does not make timely application does not automatically forfeit reemployment rights but will in-stead be subject to the employer’s rules or policies regarding reemployment after other types of leaves or ab-sences. Human resource professionals faced with a request for reemployment by a returning veteran shoulddetermine when the person’s military service ended, consider whether any medical issues associated with ser-vice delayed the request for reinstatement and make sure that the returning veteran’s request, even if untimelyunder USERRA, would be timely under the employer’s generally applicable leave policies.
B. The Escalator Principle
Returning veterans are entitled to four basic rights. One, they are entitled to prompt reinstatement,generally measured in days, not weeks. Two, they are entitled to accrued seniority, as if they had never leftwork.
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General Counsel Column (cont.)
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
This right means that the returning veteran is entitled to all the benefits that their seniority would entitlethem to you, including any promotions or job status changes, any pay or benefit increases, pension creditsand vesting and any other rights depending on length of service. Three, returning veterans may be entitledto training or retraining, particularly after a lengthy period of military service or where the returning vet-eran suffers a service-related disability that impacts his or her ability to return to work. Four, an returningveteran is entitled to “for cause” protections against discharge. For a period of military service between 31and 180 days, the “cause” protection from discharge lasts 180 days after reinstatement. For military ser-vice longer than 180 days, the “cause” protection is one year. This means that an employer that has a gen-erally applicable “at will” discharge policy may not apply that policy to a returning veteran for the desig-nated period of protection.
The second right discussed above has been referred to as the “escalator” principle. This principlecomes from a Supreme Court decision in which the Court stated that the returning veteran does not stepback on the escalator at the point that he left work. Rather, the returning veteran “steps back on at the pre-cise point he would have occupied had he kept his position continuously during the war.” This means that,in addition to vacation and other benefits based on length of service, the returning veteran is entitled to thejob he or she would have attained absent the military service. This right often presents difficult issues forhuman resource professionals who must determine what position the returning veteran would have attainedduring the period of military service. But how does one determine what position that the returning veteranwould have attained? The United States Department of Labor Regulations state that, [a]s a general rule,the employee is entitled to reemployment in the job position that he or she would have attained with rea-sonable certainty if not for the absence due to military service.” See 20 C.F.R. § 1002.191.
But how does one determine with reasonable certainty that a veteran would have obtained a particu-lar promotion during a period of military service. Courts that have considered the issue have focused onwhether employees being considered for the promotion were subject to an interview process under whichmanagement made subjective determinations regarding qualifications and ability to perform the job. Un-der these circumstances, courts have reasoned that it was not “reasonably certain” that the returning vet-eran would have been the successful candidate. However, where the criteria applied to determine promo-tion focused on factors such as length of service or production statistics or where the employer’s practicesdemonstrated that such factors were given controlling weight, courts have found that the facts establishedthat it was reasonably certain that the returning veteran would have been given the promotion. For exam-ple, under collective bargaining agreements that give qualified employees the right to obtain a promotionbased on seniority, a returning veteran with the requisite seniority will be entitled to be placed in the higherposition upon his or her return to work. Under these circumstances, the employee that was promoted dur-ing the period of the returning veteran’s leave might have to be demoted to accommodate the returning vet-eran’s return. Of course, this will cause “ruffled feathers” for the employee demoted, causing a need forthe human resource professional to explain the requirements of federal law to that disappointed employee.
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General Counsel Column (cont.)
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
The “escalator principle” can also be applicable to issues other than job promotions such as shiftpreference. For example, an employee who left work for military service while on graveyard shift mayhave a desire to work a more favorable shift upon his or her return. If an employer has a shift bidding sys-tem by which an employee can exercise his or her seniority to request a particular shift, the returning vet-eran must be given the right to exercise his or her seniority upon return to work. Again, this may mean thatan employee who attained a more favorable shift during the veteran’s absence will now be displaced.
C. Conclusion
Human resource professionals confronted with a request for reinstatement by a returning veteranmust carefully consider the requirements of USERRA and determine, first, whether the veteran’s requestfor reinstatement is timely and, second, the position and terms and conditions of employment that the vet-eran would have attained in the absence of the military service. This may require a post hoc analysis ofwhat transpired during the months or years that the employee was gone on military leave. There may oftenbe difficulties in determining what would have happened if the employee had not left. Human resourceprofessionals faced with such difficult decisions should err on the side of affording the returning veteranthe position or shift that they claim they would have attained with reasonable certainty as judges and juriesare very likely to rule in favor of the returning veteran in case a lawsuit is filed. Of course, in difficultsituations, advice from legal counsel is often warranted.
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
Strategic Management Conference Committee isLooking for Speakers for 2013
PHRMA is opening its Call for Presentations for next year’s Strategic HR Management Conference May15, 2013 at the Oregon Convention Center. We’re looking for topics and presentations that qualify for stra-tegic management recertification credit through HRCI. These are focused on overall organizational opera-tions, fall outside the traditional human resources function, and are business-related. Examples of topicsthat are considered strategic include:
Finance for non-financial managers Building corporate culture Change management Corporate governance; business ethics Metrics to measure HR’s contributions Leadership development Executive coaching Marketing fundamentals, market trends Information management systems Succession management Building a high-performance workforce Strategic planning Corporate social responsibility Due diligence for mergers and acquisitions General business environment—industry practices and developments, economic environ-
ment, labor pool demographics
If you have a presentation that focuses on learning more about “the business”, we’d like to hear from you!The Call for Presentations is open until November 15th. To be considered, complete and return the formavailable at this link: http://www.portlandhrma.org/associations/8661/files/2012_SMC_Call_for_Presenters.doc
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
Each year NHRMA honors HR professionals, students and SHRM chapters with fourawards. The NHRMA Distinguished Member Award recognizes professional members who have madesignificant contributions to the HR profession and NHRMA. The Robert W. Denomy Award recognizes anoutstanding undergraduate student who has performed outstanding service to the HR profession and to theAssociation. The Randy Lundberg Northern Lights Award recognizes a SHRM chapter for outstandingachievement and excellence in overall chapter operations. The Sharon Koss Graduate Award recognizes agraduate student who has performed outstanding service to the HR profession and the association in thespirit of Sharon Koss.
We are proud to announce four local award winners who were recognized at the annual NHRMAconference held in Anchorage in October. It is great to see our local talent being recognized for their com-mitment and contributions to the HR profession and to the association through their volunteer efforts andstudies. Please read on for the award winner biographies. Congratulations!
Deborah Jeffries, PHR, CPC - NHRMA Distinguished Member Award Rick Howell, MBA, GPHR, SPHR, CCP - - NHRMA Distinguished Member Award Lorissa Porteous, Robert Denomy Award Kristina Bader, Sharon Koss Graduate Award
Deborah showed up at a local chapter meeting one after-noon in Salem, Oregon, hoping to have a good lunch and do somenetworking. That was 22 years ago, and she could never haveimagined what the future would hold. After only one month, shewas filling out the SHRM membership application to become amember of her local chapter, NHRMA, and SHRM…and nowshe is almost a lifer!
Early on, Deborah was asked to join the SHRMA localBoard as Secretary, and she began creating the Chapter’s firstmonthly newsletter. Over the years, she has served at many lev-els and volunteered in a variety of positions, including Presidentof the Salem Chapter not once, but twice – in 1994 and again in2007 – both times helping the Chapter earn the Superior MeritAward. She moved up from Chapter activities to being a Mem-ber of what was then called the Area V Board, and SHRM’s Ore-gon State Council, where she served in five different positions.
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NHRMA Conference Award Winners (cont.)
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
People often comment that “Deborah knows everyone,” and she’s used those “connections” in her currentpositions as the Program Director for her local Salem Chapter and as the HRCI Director on the Oregon State Coun-cil. As Deborah says, “It’s all about getting re-cert credits, and getting those guest speakers (and getting them forfree!).” Deborah can also be found working with and presenting to many individual Chapters at their monthly Chap-ter meetings; at HRCI Certification Prep classes; and at State and Regional Conferences (yes, even here at NHRMA)in what is now the Pac-West Region.
Deborah’s volunteer work is not the only thing she spends her time on. Her career as Vice President of HRAnswers, Inc. spans more than 20 years. She has a total of 25+ years of experience in human resources, duringwhich she has focused on employment, employee relations, and training. She currently spends the bulk of her timeat HR Answers as a trainer, so if you want to talk with her, you can track her down while she travels around thecountry in between the 20 to 30 presentations/classes she conducts each month on topics too many to list here.
Deborah’s clients often comment on her no-nonsense, practical approach, as well as the positive attitude andhumor she brings to her work. She has also been described as committed and dedicated to the education of individu-als for happier, positive, and more productive workplaces.
And when Deborah is not in front of a group, you might also find her at her computer, writing. She is the editor ofHR Answers’ newsletter Advantage, which has more than 15,000 subscribers nationwide. She also writes and cre-ates newsletters for two clients, and submits articles to other organizations and associations across the country.
You have all heard the phrase “If you want something done give it to a busy person”. Well here is the posterchild. Deborah serves as Adjunct Faculty for the Atkinson School of Management at Willamette University; Presi-dent of her Neighborhood Association; coordinator for fundraising activities for Easter Seals and her local HumaneSociety; and is the Box Top Coordinator for her 10-year old son’s elementary school as well as being active in theschool’s PTA. In her spare time (and you figure out when that might be!) she is a proud and devoted mom to hervery active son, and an advisor to her husband, who is also in Human Resources with a family-owned business.
Rick Howell has spent twenty-six years as an HR professional.His human resource experience is in the hospitality, forest products, educa-tion, and grocery industries. At various points in his career he has special-ized in training and development, employee relations, compensation,safety and workers compensation, with titles ranging from Coordinator toVice President. Currently, he leads the HR department at New SeasonsMarket.
A frequent speaker at human resource conferences, Mr. Howellhas also been an adjunct faculty for Washington State University, PortlandState University, and/or City University for the past twenty-three years.Rick started the WSU Vancouver Student HR Chapter. He holds BA andMBA degrees from Washington State University and holds certificationsof Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Certified Com-pensation Professional (CCP). He was among the first in the nation to earnthe Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) certification in2004.
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NHRMA Conference Award Winners (cont.)
N E W S & V I E W S W W W . P O R T L A N D H R M A . O R G
He has served in various positions with the 1000+ member PHRMA (Portland Human Resource Management Asso-ciation) organization, including President in 2003. He served as the Director of the Oregon State Council in 2007.In 2006, he received NHRMA’s (Northwest Human Resources Management Association) Distinguished Memberaward. Rick served as SHRM’s Pacific West Region Member Advisory Council (MAC) representative for 2008 and2009, and was NHRMA’s President in 2011. Mr. Howell resides in Vancouver, Washington with his wife, Lesa,and two high-school aged children, Bryce and Nicole. He enjoys competitive swimming, scuba diving, flying, land-scaping, and poker.
Lorissa Porteous is an August 2012 graduate of Portland StateUniversity. The true highlight of her Undergraduate career was participat-ing in her student chapter, PSU Human Resource Management Associa-tion. Lorissa was an active member throughout her two years of member-ship, serving in a variety of leadership roles. Some of these include serv-ing as the Vice President of Publicity, Chairing various events and fund-raisers, and initiating several new programs to strengthen and grow PSUHRMA. Lorissa recently Co-Chaired the 2012 NHRMA Student Confer-ence, and was part of the winning NHRMA Student Case Competitionteam. Lorissa looks forward to an exciting HR career in the Portland, ORarea. She will continue to seek out learning experiences and leadershipopportunities through professional organizations such as NHRMA. Herlong term goals include earning and MBA, as well as a Ph D in I/O Psy-chology.
Kristina Bader, a resident of Portland, OR, is a graduate studentworking on her Master’s Degree in Human Resources Development. She hasbeen involved in her University’s SHRM chapter by serving as a student of-ficer. Kristina was instrumental in helping her chapter and fellow officersoutline a strategic plan to attain the Outstanding Student Chapter Awardfrom the Society for Human Resource Management. This award recognizesten student chapters for distinguished and innovative service each academicyear. She helped her chapter achieve this recognition by connecting on cam-pus students with the online student population. This included various ser-vices such as webinars, virtual resume workshops, and the creation of anonline resume bank and website as well as a LinkedIn site. She also initiatedvolunteer and internship opportunities for which students could apply theirHR skills in their local area. Kristina has also served as a Peer Advisor help-ing current and prospective students with course selections and program re-quirements. Kristina currently works full-time as an HR Generalist at an e-commerce company headquartered in Vancouver, WA. In her spare time,Kristina enjoys fundraising and volunteering. This includes Dress for Suc-cess, where Kristina has volunteered assisting disadvantaged and low incomewomen with job searching, resumes, and interview preparation.
One of Kristina’s career goals is to help individuals with disabilitiesfind and maintain gainful employment. Kristina has been personally inspiredby a friend who maintains a successful career in the real estate industry de-spite the fact that she is legally blind. Kristina hopes her HR education andexperience will make a difference in her workplace and local community.
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