LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Good afternoon! I hope everyone is doing well and recovering from the snow over the weekend. We have seen an alarming trend in the state of Ohio recently with workplace issues, typically handled in the state legislature, going to the ballot for voters to vote on. In recent years we saw ballot initiatives dealing with  workers compensation and minimum wage and this year we are likely to see the Ohio Healthy Families Act in November.  This issue has huge implications for many Ohio employers and would require them to provide 7 days of paid sick leave to employees. Because this issue will more than likely be determined by voters in November Ohio SHRM Government Affairs has been working to educate all HR Professionals on this issue.  To assist you with educating your chapters on this issue, I have attached the Ohio Healthy Families Act Toolkit . This toolkit is designed to provide you with fact sheets, status updates, call to action ideas, and talking points on the Ohio Healthy Families Act. The information in this toolkit is in a format that can easily be shared with your chapters, used to write newsletter articles, educate your businesses on the act, or write letters to your legislators.  This information will also be posted on the SHRM website as well for our at-large members.

Many people have been asking  me what they can do about this particular issue. At this point contact with legislators is critical so I am also attaching the information on the Ohio Legislative Conference in Columbus on April 22nd. During the conference HR Professionals will have the opportunity to meet with their legislators on this important issue. We also have some great sessions lined up this year. One unique session we will be offering this year is focused on preparing employers when issues go to the ballot. We will be having several government affairs representatives from various employers throughout the state speak on how HR professionals can engage their workforce on becoming educated voters. We will also have a representative from the Ohio Prosperity Project, a nonpartisan group that provides HR professionals and businesses with various voter education resources, speak on the types of resources that are available to businesses on these issues. Participants will then be armed with the information and resources they need to educate their employers on these issues.

As an added bonus we will be holding a Day Inside the District for the State Council Members who attend the conference. During this session the State Council  will  have the unique opportunity to meet with the members of JCARR to talk about the Ohio Pregnancy Leave Rule that was proposed by the OCRC.

2008 Ohio Legislative Conference

Ohio Healthy Families Act Toolkit