Batten down the hatches, Washington, D.C. You're about to be descended upon by a human resources brigade.
The Society for Human Resource Management and other organizations have rallied the troops around two crucial HR issues: the Cadillac tax, and a proposed change in overtime pay rules. Thursday, Nov. 19, has been designated as Capitol Hill Advocacy Day, and SHRM estimates that 400 human resources personnel will arrive in the nation's capital to discuss these issues with elected officials and attempt to sway the way Congress handles these issues.
Human resources personnel have their hands full with the many labor and health care reforms emanating from Washington, D.C. these days, but these two issues are particularly nettlesome.
Recommended For You
It isn't hard to understand the profession's objections to the Cadillac tax, an excise tax on "rich" health plans included in health care reform. The tax was created to help fund the mandates of the law, but just about everybody outside the White House wants it to go away.
HR professionals would bear the extra burden of administering the tax, adding another layer of work to a job already made more complex by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Likewise with the Department of Labor's proposal to raise the overtime trigger salary from $23,660 to $50,440. In other words, more workers would now be eligible for overtime pay, a move that would have myriad implications for the human resources personnel charged with implementing this new standard.
The profession's goal for tomorrow is to raise its voice and to be heard by Congress on these critical matters. The Hill Day event is part of the three-day Volunteer Leaders' Summit taking place in Washington, D.C.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
