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 Ventura County Affiliate
July 2009 Newsletter |
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SAVE THE DATE!
This year's annual dinner and auction fundraising event will take place on
October 24th
1:30 -5:30 pm
NHRA Wine Crush at
the Italian Villa
in Ventura
Delicious food, wine tasting, silent auction and raffle
Stay tuned for
more details! |
The NHRA Ventura County Affiliate is an approved HRCI provider for those seeking to earn recertification credit hours towards their PHR, SPHR, and GPHR certifications.
Be sure to pick up
a Certificate of Attendance at our Meetings! |
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The August 2009
Breakfast Meeting Sponsor is:
Major Market Services
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 President's Letter from Shamaria Smallis
Welcome NHRA members, volunteers, and friends to our first newsletter of the 2009/10 season!
As the new President of the National Human Resources Association - Ventura County, I am delighted to be a part of such a dynamic organization, presenting networking opportunities to "Connect * Excel * Lead" and develop valuable professional and personal relationships.
The board and I are looking forward to an exciting year of serving the HR community in Ventura County. As the field of human resources continues to evolve, we are committed to providing you with meaningful topics that support your professional development. Our fantastic group of volunteers also works diligently to provide you with business and strategic topics that we hope will guide you in your pursuit of being a successful HR business partner.
Your continued support is extremely appreciated and valued! We look forward to seeing you at our next monthly breakfast meeting on Wednesday, August 26th at the Los Robles Event Center in Thousand Oaks. Our meetings begin at 7:00 AM with an opportunity to network with fellow HR professionals and service providers. For detailed information and to register for the events, I encourage you to visit our website at: NHRA-VC
I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting!
Sincerely,
Shamaria Smallis
President, NHRA Ventura County
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 Are you an HR professional who is "in-transiton"?
Immediately following our monthly breakfast meeting, please join Suzana Harris, NHRA Director of Career Services, as she facilitates a breakout session for those in transition.
These sessions are complimentary to each of you as part of Suzana's, and the NHRA's, commitment to supporting HR Professionals throughout your career cycle. Come and Connect with others and share your career search experience, contacts, and insights to today's employment marketplace.
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Regular transitional meeting attendee, Marty Cawley, shares her experience regarding this valuable resource:
These meetings provide a forum for discussing important challenges and issues facing job searchers today, offer information on the various job boards and other networking groups, tips for writing resumes, cover letters, etc., as well as sharing job leads.
So while you are in transition, I highly recommend attending the NHRA-Ventura County Chapter breakfast meetings to stay sharp on current issues, network with other HR professionals, and join our friendly, beneficial in-transition group to assist you in your job search. I hope to see you there! -- Marty Cawley, SPHR
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 NHRA Ventura County Affiliate Breakfast Meeting Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Los Robles Golf Course Events Center
299 S. Moorpark Road
Thousand Oaks, CA
7:00 AM ~ Registration & Networking
7:30 to 8:00 ~ Breakfast, Legal Update, Announcements
8:00 - 9:00 ~ Program/Q&A Session
$26 for NHRA members, $23 for those in-transition, $38 for non-members
Will Social Network Vehicles Get Me to Where I'm Going?
Hop In. We'll Show You the Way.
What you'll discover:
· Build your own network of professional colleagues and supportive resources
· Make key connections and recommendations with ease
· Flesh out a more rounded and distinctive profile
beyond a mere resume or posting
· Get the jump on identifying candidates that
best fit your talent requisitions needs
Program presenters:
Ken Bauer, VP of Global Human Resources at ValueClick
Marcia Needles, Manager of Talent Acquisition at ValueClick
RSVP & Registration:
RSVP by Friday, August 21st
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 Scholarships Available! Did you know that the NHRA Ventura County offers scholarships to its members? In order to be eligible for the $500 scholarship, you need to be a member in good standing and working on a PHR, SPHR, Global Certification, a BA or an MBA with an emphasis in HR. A scholarship application form. There is a limit of one scholarship award per member. For more information or to obtain an application form, please contact Denise Figueiredo at denisegoozee816@yahoo.com. Also note: the Ventura County NHRA is planning to offer training courses for the December and January Certification Exams. Details to follow! |
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FREE
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NHRA Breakfast Meeting - Guest Coupon
Share your connection with the NHRA Ventura County by giving this free breakfast meeting coupon to a fellow HR Practitioner, as a first time attendee,
and NHRA will waive the meeting charge!*
Guests: Please pre-register for the meeting by
calling Alex Gummeson @ 818.734.8323.
For more info go to: www.humanresources.org.
CONNECT * EXCEL * LEAD
Offer valid for one HR Practitioner as first time attendee
Pre-registration required
NHRA Ventura County Affiliate |
| *Valid for Monthly Breakfast Meetings only - not valid for special events such as the annual legal update or all day seminars. |
 Business Acumen Seminar and Wine & Cheese Networking Event Highlights
The Business Acumen Workshop held on July 15th at the Palm Gardens Hotel in Newbury Park was deemed a success by the approximately 40 HR professionals and guests who attended. The event turned out to be not only a terrific learning experience but a great opportunity to network and build relationships with other HR professionals.
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This was one of the best seminars I have ever attended. Thank you for coordinating such a worthwhile program. - Debbie Bernard
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The informal poolside wine and hors d'ouvre social networking time held after the seminar was a continuation of the rave reviews. New faces and old colleagues alike enjoyed a warm welcome and light "shop talk." The "white linen" cheese and beverage set up was complemented by a platoon of wait staff bearing silver platters of divine crab cakes and stuffed mushrooms. The event provided the perfect opportunity for veteran members, who have a difficult time fitting the breakfast programs into their schedules, to renew friendships in the cool of the evening's poolside venue.
(photo: NHRA-VC Secretary, Denise Figueiredo and NHRA member, Jeanne Mays) |
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This was the question faced by the City of New Haven in the U.S. Supreme Court's Ricci v. DeStefano decision and the companion case by the same name. In this case, the City of New Haven found itself between a rock and a hard place. The City used a promotional exam for firefighters on which African American candidates scored lower than Caucasian and Hispanic candidates. The City then had to decide whether to promote based on the test results, which could have forced the City to defend a discrimination claim brought by African American firefighters, or throw out the test results and face a discrimination claim by Caucasian and Hispanic firefighters who scored highly on the test and were not promoted - a true employment law conundrum. The City chose the latter.
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case, holding that the City unlawfully discriminated against Caucasian and Hispanic firefighters when it denied them promotions and discarded the test results. The dissent, penned by Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and joined by Justices Stevens, Souter and Breyer, stressed the higher purpose behind Title VII in protecting groups "long denied equal opportunity " from "tests 'fair in form, but discriminatory in operation.'" The case has added a new level of discourse (and discord) to the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Ricci illustrates the difference between two types of discrimination claims: disparate treatment and disparate impact. In disparate treatment cases, an employer is alleged to have intentionally singled out an employee or class of employees for discriminatory treatment based on membership in a legally protected category, such as race. In disparate impact cases, the employer faces a claim based on discrimination caused by a neutral personnel practice that has a disproportionately adverse effect on employees in a legally protected category.
In reversing and remanding the case, the Supreme Court determined that the City's decision was race-based and held that in order to avoid disparate treatment liability, the City needed to show that it had a "strong basis in evidence" that it would have been liable under disparate impact theory had it not disregarded the test results. According to the Supreme Court majority, the City had not met this burden.
The case exemplifies a struggle often faced by employers who use cognitive tests for hiring and promotions, as well as by employers using a wide array of facially neutral criteria in other employment decisions, including lay-offs. These neutral criteria provide critical information to employers. However, as illustrated in Ricci, even seemingly neutral criteria can have an adverse impact on protected groups. Now is the time to take a close look at your organization's decision-making tools to make sure that they are job-related and to analyze them for a discriminatory impact on any one group of employees. | |
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To Defend or to Defend? That is the Question