MMHR’s Boot Camp webinars cover range of HR issues

The Massachusetts Municipal Human Resources association held its eighth annual HR101 Boot Camp virtually this spring as a five-session webinar series.

The series kicked off with a discussion about developing job descriptions, led by past MMHR Chair Mary Beth Bernard, the human resources director in Wrentham. The session covered why it is important to maintain accurate, up-to-date job descriptions for each position, the key components of a job description, and how job descriptions come into play in the recruitment, hiring and performance evaluation processes. Bernard also provided a helpful list of “do’s and don’ts” for the classification and compensation process.

The second session focused on workers’ compensation and paid leave under Chapter 41, Section 111F, in the time of COVID-19. Lori Burke, director of absence management and specialty services with AllOneHealth, gave an overview of Massachusetts workers’ compensation regulations, Section 111F, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. She discussed the importance of using a case management approach when a work-related injury occurs.

For the third session of the series, Jean Haertl, CEO of Safety & Respect at Work, and attorney Jaime Kenny, a partner with Clifford & Kenny, led a training on complaint triage and policies, investigations and discipline. The session covered how to conduct a proper investigation, interim measures that can be put in place while an investigation is ongoing, and disciplinary and remedial action.

The theme of the fourth session in the series was municipal leave laws 101. Leading the discussion were attorney Jackie Kugell, a partner with Morgan, Brown and Joy, and Yetunde Buraimoh, an associate with Morgan, Brown and Joy. The session covered the FMLA, the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, the ADAAA, and the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act. Kugell and Buraimoh also covered the various state and federal leave laws that apply to situations of domestic violence, jury duty and court attendance, Veterans Day and Memorial Day leave, victim and witness leave, and military leave.

The webinar series concluded with a discussion about developing a diversity hiring policy. MMHR Chair Dolores Hamilton, the human resources director in Framingham, and Dr. Martisa Barros, the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer in Framingham, discussed the diversity hiring policy developed by the city of Framingham and how municipalities can operationalize such a policy. Hamilton and Barros also shared their newly developed diversity hiring guide, which includes diverse hiring websites to use for recruitment, a diversity recruitment checklist, and sample interview questions.

More than 150 human resources professionals registered for the Boot Camp webinar series.