SHRM goes to Washington

Three SHRM chapters picked a most opportune time to visit lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Approximately 30 HR professionals descended on the legislators April 21, the day after the Department of Labor released the final revisions to the overtime rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

They, and two other chapters this past spring, were participating in SHRM's Day Inside the Beltway program that helps HR professionals learn to communicate with elected representatives and to help influence policy and law. Chapters can participate at any time throughout the year. Administered by SHRM's Governmental Affairs department as part of its HR Voice initiative, the program begins with a visit to SHRM national headquarters in Alexandria, Va., where Amani Council, manager of member advocacy, and other Governmental Affairs staff brief chapter members on hot legislative topics, such as the FLSA revisions. After a tour of SHRM, chapter members make the short trip into Washington, D.C., to the congressional offices.

Council also helps the chapters prepare for the visit, giving advice on how to make appointments and how to structure presentations to representatives. A toolkit on the SHRM web site offers lots of tips.

Louis Lessig, an attorney with Brown & Connery in Westmont, N.J., and legislative committee chair for Tri-State HRMA, had met with chapter members and the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey to plan the visit. Then, the HRA of Southern New Jersey in Millville contacted Tri-State, and the two chapters agreed to join forces for the Hill visits, splitting transportation costs and working together on logistics.

Lessig bound in booklets materials on the FLSA revisions and other issues that the chapter members would hand out to help educate the legislators and their aides.

Then DOL released the final rules. That called for some quick and significant revisions to Lessig's booklets, and some catching up for the HR professionals.

"We were in the van, driving south on 1-95, and I was trying to educate people on what I had read in the past 12 hours," said Lessig. SHRM hadn't taken a formal position on the changes, and the chapter members weren't sure if they were ready to charge the Hill.

However, once the group reached the office of Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., their confidence grew. "I'm not sure he even knew the FLSA had come out," Lessig said. "We had done our homework, and we really gave both barrels."

Lessig noted that the group had difficulty getting on other representatives' and senators' appointment books. That takes time and persistence, according to Becky Stauffer, SPHR, vice president of York SHRM in Pennsylvania and HR generalist/recruiter at PennMar Organizations Inc. in Maryland. Stauffer, a former aide in a senator's office, said visitors should begin calling the representatives' offices five to eight months in advance.

Also, Stauffer cautioned that visitors may not be able to speak with the representative but instead will meet with a staff member.

"If you don't get to see them, don't feel that the visit was wasted," Stauffer said. "The staff people write policy and talking points. The staff understands the issues. And if they don't [know the issues], then it's a good opportunity to educate them."

Stauffer added that many of the staffers are young and likely in their first job out of college. "They've never held an HR position, and they aren't experienced. You can't be condescending to them. Make it a congenial atmosphere, even if you don't agree on the issues, and develop a relationship," Stauffer advised.

Stauffer also recommended that chapters far from Washington try to make appointments when the Senate and House are on recess and the representatives and senators are in their regional offices. "They have office time there and are more accessible in their regional offices," Stauffer said.

Dulles SHRM in Herndon, Va., met with Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and a representative of Sen. John Warner, R-Va., on May 12. Mary Lynn Billitteri, PHR, associate director at the American Press Institute in Reston, Va., is legislative liaison for Dulles SHRM.

Billitteri advised others to educate themselves on their representatives' positions on the issues to be discussed. "You don't want to waste their time. Be very clear on their positions and voting on these issues," she said.

The Winchester, Va., Area Society for Human Resource Management also visited representatives on the Hill on April 21.

Insider Information

SHRM staffers offer advice for chapter members visiting Capitol Hill:

* Leave business cards and call back or write a thank-you note.

* Tell your personal story; share examples of how workplace laws affect you.

* Track the issue, either with http://www.shrm.org/government or http://thomas.loc.gov/.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for Human Resource Management
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group