Leaders of Workplace Policy
SHRM, the Biden administration and Congress share a common goal – getting more Americans into the workforce and providing the training and skills needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Now more than ever, HR leaders are playing a vital role in helping their organizations navigate federal and state laws and regulations that impact their employees.
During this session, hear from influential policy leaders, including Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who both serve on congressional committees with broad jurisdiction over many of SHRM’s policy areas, and Secretary of Labor, Martin J. Walsh, on their vision for future workplace policy and how HR professionals like you can advocate for policies to create better workplaces and a better world.
This closing session will underscore how HR profoundly impacts our workplaces, and how through advocacy, you can forge the future of workplace policy!
Learning Objectives:
- Gain exclusive insights into the priorities of the Biden Administration and Congress for upcoming regulatory and legislative actions impacting the workplace.
- Hear directly from key administration and congressional leaders about how they plan to work with HR professionals and employers to help shape the future of workplace policy.
- Learn how HR professionals can work with policymakers to craft solution-based workplace policy that creates better workplaces for a better world.
Secretary Martin J. Walsh
Martin J. Walsh was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Labor on March 23, 2021. A lifelong champion of equity and fairness, and a proud product of the City of Boston, Secretary Walsh leads the U.S. Department of Labor with a strong connection to working people, and a commitment to creating an economy that works for all.
In 1997, he was elected to serve as a State Representative for one of the most diverse districts in Massachusetts. There, he focused on creating good jobs, protecting workers' rights, expanding mental health treatment, and investing in public transit.
Following his time as a State Representative, Secretary Walsh spent the last seven years as the Mayor of the City of Boston. While mayor, he led the creation of close to 140,000 jobs and helped secure a statewide $15/hour minimum wage, paid sick leave, and paid parental leave. He established Universal, high-quality Pre-Kindergarten for all children, and free community college for low-income students.
Secretary Walsh was a national leader in the response to COVID-19, getting PPE to first responders and nursing homes; funding emergency child care for healthcare and frontline workers; halting evictions and providing rental relief; and setting up multiple funds to help small businesses survive. His work early in the pandemic to pause construction and establish safety requirements has been lauded as a model by both unions and employers alike.
As Mayor of Boston, Secretary Walsh also made his mark as a labor leader. After following his father into Laborers Local 223 in Boston, he rose to head the Building and Construction Trades Council from 2011 to 2013. He worked with business and community leaders to promote high-quality development, and he created a program called Building Pathways that has become a model for increasing diversity in the workplace and providing good career opportunities for women and people of color.
Born and raised in the neighborhood of Dorchester by immigrant parents, Secretary Walsh is driven to ensure our nation's economy works for everyone. Secretary Walsh is a survivor of Burkitt lymphoma and is a proud member of the recovery community who has worked to expand addiction treatment throughout his career. While working full-time as a legislator, he returned to school to earn a degree in Political Science at Boston College.
Rep. Virginia Foxx
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx represents North Carolina’s 5th District in the United States House of Representatives. She is Republican Leader of the House Committee on Education and Labor and also serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. From 2013 to 2016, she served as Secretary of the House Republican Conference. Before serving on Capitol Hill, Foxx spent 10 years in the North Carolina State Senate. She began her career in the field of higher education, which included serving as a sociology instructor at Appalachian State University and holding several administrative positions at ASU, including Assistant Dean of the General College. She also served as President of Mayland Community College. Foxx is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Arts in College Teaching in sociology. She also holds a Doctor of Education degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Sen. Maggie Hassan
United States Senator Maggie Hassan is committed to working with members of both parties to represent New Hampshire values and to solve problems in order to expand middle class opportunity, support small businesses, and keep America safe, secure, and free. She is the second woman in American history to be elected both Governor and United States Senator, along with fellow New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, Senator Hassan is working to combat the heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis; expand access to job training and make college more affordable for our students and families; help innovative businesses grow and create good jobs; and build a more inclusive economic future where all people who work hard to get ahead can stay ahead.
She is also focused on strengthening national security; protecting Social Security and Medicare; ensuring that veterans get the services that they need and deserve; combating climate change and preserving our natural resources; and protecting a woman's right to make her own health care decisions.
Senator Hassan’s committee assignments allow her to focus on these as well as other critical priorities facing New Hampshire’s families, small businesses, and economy. She is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; the Finance Committee; and the Joint Economic Committee.
Senator Hassan was drawn to public service as an advocate fighting to ensure that children like her son Ben, who experiences severe disabilities, would be fully included in their communities and have the same opportunities that all parents want for their children.
In 1999, then-Governor Shaheen asked her to serve on the Advisory Committee to the Adequacy in Education and Finance Commission. Her experience as a business attorney and as a parent of a child who experiences disabilities enabled her to provide a unique perspective as the commission did its work.
Senator Hassan was first elected to the New Hampshire Senate in 2004, serving the people of the 23rd District, which included ten Seacoast towns. During her six years in office, she was selected by her colleagues to serve as President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader of the State Senate.
In 2013, she was sworn in as the 81st Governor of New Hampshire. Throughout her two terms as Governor, she responsibly balanced the state budget; created a business-friendly environment that encouraged innovation and saw New Hampshire’s unemployment rate drop to among the lowest in the nation; worked to implement a comprehensive, hands-on approach to the heroin, fentanyl and opioid crisis; and froze in-state tuition at state universities for the first time in 25 years while lowering tuition at community colleges.
Maggie Hassan was born on February 27, 1958. She earned her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from the Northeastern School of Law. She and her husband, Tom, who serves as the President of School Year Abroad, live in Newfields and are the proud parents of two children, Ben (32) and Meg (28).