MAHRA Monthly - October 2015

The Uniformed Services & Reemployment Act - USERRA

U.S. military forces continue to be active in different parts of the world, especially the Middle East.  This means that certain employees will need to leave their civilian jobs to fulfill military service obligations, and others are returning from military action and seeking re-employment.  Now is a good time to review employee handbooks regarding policies on military leave.  The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA) is the federal law that entitles employees to military leave from employment and reinstatement upon their return.  USERRA applies to all employers.  The U.S. Department of Labor published a non-technical assistance guide on complying with USERRA which can be found at: http://wwww.dol.gov/vets/whatsnew/uguide.pdf.  In addition to describing in clear terms what the law requires, the guide includes a useful checklist for administering military leaves of absence.  Some of the issues addressed in the guide include:

1. Advance notice of the need for leave is required.
2. Employees can choose to use accrued paid time off during a military leave, but cannot be required to do so.
3. Employees must be reinstated upon their return from most types of military service, provided they request reinstatement in a timely manner.
4. Employees are entitled to elect COBRA continuation coverage during military leaves.
5. Upon return from military leaves of 30 or more days, employees cannot be discharged without cause for a defined period of time. 
6. As other employment rights laws, employees needing and taking military leave under USERRA are protected from discrimination and retaliation.

• Establish externally competitive pay rates
• Build pay structures (jobs/grades)
• Trend wage movement over time
• Provide an objective analysis for negotiating pay rates
• Provide logic check for internal equity

• An introduction to market pricing
• The 10 steps to successful market pricing
• Determining fair pay
• Why we need to use surveys
• Effective job matching

MAHRA Seeking Enthusiastic Volunteers! The MAHRA board of Directors currently has two board openings, the Secretary and Treasurer Elect position.  Joining the board is a great way to give back to the HR Community and to have an opportunity to connect with individuals from a variety of organizations. Both of these positons are a perfect entry point to the board as they work side by side with the current Secretary and Treasurer.

Pathways to SHRM Certification                                                     If you are a current holder of an HR generalist certification in good standing and you obtained your certification by January 31, 2015, you are eligible for SHRM’s new certification – at no cost – by completing the online tutorial pathway described in the steps below by December 31, 2015.

1. Visit shrmcertification.org/pathway
2. Create an account and select "Online Tutorial Pathway".
3. Affirm that you hold a valid HR credential
4. Enter current certification details: certification name, issue date and expiration date
5. Agree to abide by the SHRM Code of Ethics
6. Access and complete the Online Tutorial via the link sent to your email.
7. Receive your SHRM credential once you complete the pathway process and begin your three year recertification cycle. For up-to-date details on recertification, visit shrmcertifcation.org/recertification

You will not lose or have to give up any of your current credentials in order to obtain the new SHRM certification. Any professionals who did not obtain a generalist certification by January 31, 2015, will not be eligible for the online tutorial pathway and instead can take the SHRM certification exam during the spring or winter exam window.

 *Eligible HR generalist certification programs include: PHR, SPHR, GPHR, HRBP, HRMP and IPMA-CP. PHR, SPHR, GPHR, HRBP and HRMP are registered trademarks of the HR Certification Institute and are not SHRM certifications. SHRM has no rights to the “IPMA” trademark, and IPMA-CP is not a SHRM certification. Other HR generalist credentials may also qualify based on SHRM’s review. Please e-mail shrmcertification@shrm.org for more information.

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