Once again the Austin Peters Group is co-leading for the fourth year in a row, Strategic HR (Human Resources) Peer Group. The HR Peer Group targets HR executives and senior HR managers who want to push themselves to the next level of strategic thinking. Peer Group is based on Dave Ulrich's new book and research, "HR From the Outside In". Peer Group starts January 2013, and is approved for 15 hours of strategic HRCI credit for SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) members. Join Becky Crowder from Austin Peters Group, David Wing and Sue Willman from Spencer Fane in January.

The Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance continues to aggressively audit federal contractors under the Executive Order 11246 (1965), for affirmative action as it relates to women and minorities, veterans and disabled groups, as amended. Conciliation agreements alone are up 20 percent annually and 400 percent from Presidents Bush to Obama. With that said, the OFCCP has come under fire itself regarding the agressive nature with which it has handled audits and in particular its approach to looking at the compensation data of contractors.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance gets serious about pay differences amounting to $2,000 or 2% differences between women and men, minorities and whites; the agency also increases the number of audits, and turns up the heat on contractors by expanding their reach. The heat was high already with auditors doubling, but now the heat is turned up and much of it has to do with money and politics. In June 2011, Astra Zeneca entered into a consent decree with the federal government for $250,000 for compensation practices regarding 124 female pharmaceutical sales specialists.

Once again The Austin Peters Group, Inc. will facilitate with Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP a Strategic HR Peer Group for senior human resource professionals. The year-long class has been pre-approved by HRCI for 15 hours of Strategic Business Management credit toward the PHR, SPHR and GPHR. Sessions are designed for senior human resource professionals with 5 plus years of experience who want to strategically contribute to their organization's bottom line. Sessions will meet once a month from 7:30 a.m. - 9: 30 a.m.

From our friends at Barnes and Thornburg....

On July 7, 2010, the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued an interim rule requiring federal contractors to make certain disclosures regarding first-tier subcontract awards. In particular, the rule requires contractors to report first-tier subcontract awards expected to be $25,000 or more and, for certain larger government contractors, to report the executive compensation of the top five executives of both the contractor and subcontractor.

On Thursday, July 29th, Becky Crowder facilitates the Strategic HR Peer Group with David Wing from Spencer Fane. This is a group of top level human resource managers and executives who are sharpening their strategic human resource skills. This interactive settings allows participants to share key strategic issues and get feedback from peers.