Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 15, 2017 FEATURES/EMPLOYMENT LAW 15 WANT TO MAKE WAVES? TO MAKE TO MAKE TO MAKE WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? WAVES? H R PA C A N H E L P A CHRP creates an ocean of opportunity. You can earn a CHRP, Canada's best-known and only national HR designation. If you're an HR professional outside of Ontario, join HRPA by May 31, 2017 and keep your CHRP designation. Don't Tread Water. Exclusively from HRPA. www.hrpa.ca/chrp New administration in United States keeps SHRM on its toes T he actions and poten- tial law alterations of the United States' new gov- ernment administration is keep- ing members of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) up at night. " ere's a new administration in Washington and they have focused on a number of key issues that af- fect the workplace," says SHRM se- nior vice-president of membership and external aff airs Robert Carr. Recent changes to immigration and visa policies are of concern to the association's members, as are tax reform and health-care reform, he says. "In the U.S. tax system, employ- ee benefi ts largely go untaxed," says Carr. "We're worried about tax reform." Talent acquisition and reten- tion is also top of mind for HR professionals, as is the war for tal- ent, says Carr. In terms of ongoing policy, 2016 saw the continued imple- mentation of SHRM's main stra- tegic initiatives: extending the reach of its competency-based certifi cation, ensuring adequate tools to do so where available, as well as improving the orga- nization's engagement of senior human resources professionals, according to Carr. " e overall strategy for SHRM is to make sure we're serving HR professionals no matter where they are in their career," he says. "We want to make sure we're serving them at the student phase, then entry-level, mid-level and top tier." A major milestone for the as- sociation's certification was its accreditation by the Buros Cen- ter for Testing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he says. An app was also developed to help HR practitioners track pro- fessional development activity. And in 2017, a major push will take place with SHRM's recer- tifi cation eff orts, to ensure the 100,000 practitioners with the new certifi cation maintain it, says Carr. e organization — which has members in more than 165 coun- tries and more than 575 affi liated chapters in the U.S. — continues to grow at a three per cent annual clip under the leadership of CEO Hank Jackson, with a current total of 291,875. "We're fast approaching the 300,000 mark," says Carr. "We grow the membership by acquisitions and we had a record number of acquisitions last year. I think we acquired 60,000 new members." SHRM's annual conference is said to be the largest of its kind in the world, drawing 15,000 reg- istrants, he says. e 2016 event was held in Washington, while this year will see human resourc- es professionals meeting in New Orleans. barriers, such as those created by sexual dress codes. For instance, the OHRC has prepared a check- list for employers to ensure their dress codes comply with the code. Employers would be well- advised to do the following: • Write and put into practice poli- cies and processes. • Retain records of harassment and discrimination complaints, accommodation requests, and all considerations and assessments. • Accommodate up to the point of undue hardship. • Consider options and be fl exible. • Investigate workplace harass- ment as well as discrimination complaints. • Communicate findings of ha- rassment and discrimination complaints, including a general summary and intended future preventative steps. Where nec- essary, provide additional details (such as changing shifts). • Educate both yourself and your employees. By releasing this report, the OHRC expressed the growing intolerance for sexual harass- ment and other discrimination; contributed to the ongoing (and much needed) dialogue about the barriers women face in the workplace; acknowledged the vulnerability of many employees who do not object to sexual dress codes or complain about harass- ment due to fear of reprisal; rec- ognized that proactive steps must be taken by employers to remove discriminatory barriers; and pro- vided practice tools for employers to help create workplaces that are barrier-free and to ensure compli- ance with the code. Many restaurants have already amended or drafted policies and processes to comply with the code. e challenge will be the ob- vious next step: Putting the poli- cies and processes into practice. Nadia Zaman is an associate at Rudner MacDonald, an employ- ment and labour law fi rm in Toron- to. She can be reached at nzaman@ rudnermacdonald.com. Retain records DRESS CODE < pg. 5 Hank Jackson, CEO, SHRM

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