MEETING MINUTES – January 14th, 2004

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Association held on at Renaissance Hotel in Asheville.  Should you have any questions, comments or corrections, please contact Bridget Downey, PHR, our Chapter Secretary.

Chapter Business:
The meeting was opened by President Renee Anderson, SPHR, who welcomed all visitors to our meeting.

Frank Pomeroy and Diane Bailey-Brooks presented this year’s scholarship awards.  The recipients are:

            Vanessa Crouch

            Holly Waltemeyer

            Allison McCaffrey

Renee congratulated two of our members who recently passed the exam to receive SPHR certification, Batina Smith and Gail Baylor

Since the last meeting, we have filled the two vacancies on our WNC Human Resources Association board. 

Carol Rovello has agreed to be our Vice President for Programs.  She invites interested  members to join her committee.

Gail Baylor has accepted the position of Public Relations Representative.

Frank Pomeroy introduced this month’s vendor, John Rose of Rose Consulting.  John specializes in conflict management and is certified as a mediator by the Mediation Network of North Carolina.  He believes that conflict can be positive and productive, producing creative tension.  Unresolved conflict can be costly, but learnable skills can help produce successful conflict management.  John’s firm offers training, coaching and consulting services, and mediation.  The full-day upcoming seminar, Conflict Management at Work, will be presented on March 10, 2004 at Café on the Square.  See the Rose Consulting web site at www.roseconsultinginc.com for details.

Carol Rovello is working on the February Newsletter.  Any submissions should be sent to Carol.

Western North Carolina Human Resources Association officers have recently received several unsolicited e-mails.  If members are also being targeted, please let Renee know.  Renee reminded everyone that the Membership Roster is confidential, and is not to be used for solicitation.

Rachel Beemus from Lifespan is putting together a PHR/SPHR study group.  Any interested members should feel free to contact her.

Program Highlights:

Renee introduced today’s presenter, JonYarborough of Edwards, Ballard, Bishop, Sturm, Clark and Keim, P.A.’s Asheville office.  Jon also serves as our chapter’s Diversity Advocate.  He presented a legal update on cases and trends that have caught his attention in the last 6 months to a year.

The changes in the EEO-1 form have been delayed until spring of 2005.  Contact Jon for a copy of the proposed changes; the most notable being an increase in the number race and job categories.

Changes in age discrimination law include a shortened filing period.  The complainant must now wait only 60 days after the EEOC filing, and no longer has to wait for their finding.

The changes to the provisions of the FLSA that govern exempt/nonexempt status are now expected to be finalized in March of this year.

Proposed changes to the FMLA are expected in June 2004.  The changes are expected to put the “serious” back into the definition of  a “serious health condition”.

In the Ragsdale-Wolverine case, the court threw out the penalty for non-notification of the concurrent status of FMLA and other leave.

The Supreme Court sent the California Raytheon case concerning its “no rehire” policy back to the 9^th Circuit Court.  Jon suggests that, based on the outcome, HR professionals continue to apply consistent, rational, non-biased standards for employment decisions. 

Another California case concerned whether employment would be harmful to a prospective employee with a medical condition.  The case continues because the court was not satisfied with the caliber of medical expertise presented as evidence, instead requiring the testimony of highly skilled specialists.

The 4^th Circuit Court found that employers have a duty to protect the privacy of former employees’ medical records.  Jon suggested that medical records be shared only with supervisors on a need-to-know basis, first aid personnel, and government officials.

The NC Court of Appeals, in hearing a RETA (Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act) case which did not make the filing deadline, decided that the case could be tried as a public policy violation by citing the Workers Compensation Act directly.

On December 4, 2003, the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) was amended by the FACT (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions) Act.  While intended to deter identity theft, it also ruled that third parties conducting investigations in the workplace need only present a summary after the fact.

In the case of Bryant vs Aiken, the judge refused to award punitive damages because the employer had acted in good faith by having an EEO policy, providing training programs, ensuring that all employees knew the policies, and providing a clear reporting mechanism.

Confusion remains on whether partial days should be counted for FMLA purposes.  Jon recommends consulting with legal counsel on any questionable cases.  He also suggests exercising caution with employees who are nearing the 12-month eligibility period for FMLA.

Records should be retained for the duration of employment plus a minimum of 3 years.  All businesses should maintain a records retention policy.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.