MAHRA Monthly - November 2015

Careful What Your Employees Say Creating a buzz about your employer's products, services or brands is an important feature in any marketing plan today. However, all product or service endorsements, regardless of the speaker, are subject to the Federal Trade Commission's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising ("Endorsement Guides"). The Endorsement Guides require that all commercial endorsements reflect the honest opinion, beliefs, or experience of the endorser and cannot be used to make a false or misleading claim.  In addition, the endorser must disclose any material connection between the endorser and the marketer of the product or service. Therefore, the Endorsement Guides apply to any endorsements or testimonials made by employees if such endorsements or testimonials are related to their employment in any way. The fact that the endorser is an employee of the company whose product is being endorsed must be disclosed in any communication that contains the endorsement - even if the employee did not work on the product or was not asked to promote or endorse the product. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission confirmed in a FAQ that any employee who mentions a product of the employee's company in social networks or on a review site should "definitely disclose" the employment relationship when making an endorsement. Merely listing the employer on the employee's profile page is not enough. Employees of ad agencies or public relations firms also need to avoid endorsing products of their employers' clients without proper disclosure. Before your organization mobilizes its employees to "light up the Twitterverse" about its newest product or its client's products, be sure you know the disclosure rules your employees must follow. 

Start the New Year by Getting Involved!! The MAHRA Board of Directors currently has two board openings, the Secretary and Treasurer Elect positions.  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 positions are a perfect entry point to the board as they work side by side with the current Secretary and Treasurer.

Last Call - 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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October 2015 Newsletter