Ted Kennedy's Impact on the HR Profession

I was saddened early this morning as I heard the NPR announcement that Senator Edward Kennedy had passed away overnight. Ted Kennedy has been a Senator my whole life; and has been my Senator for most of it. Living in Massachusetts, one frequently senses the impact that he has had on the Commonwealth (that’s what we call our state, ok?).

But even more so, as a Human Resources professional, I deal with Kennedy’s influence on a regular basis. He, probably more than any other U.S. Senator, has impacted labor and healthcare law in this country. He has served as the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee in over 11 nonconcurring years until his death. Kennedy was passionate about equal opportunity. He was one of the leading sponsors of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 which provided employment protections and accommodation mandates for disabled citizens. Kennedy was also a leading voice on the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, providing job protection to care for oneself or a family member. In regards to healthcare, Kennedy was one of the leading voices for the passage of the Healthcare Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and sponsor of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). In just the last few years, Kennedy has been a leader on worker safety, co-sponsoring the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006; raising the minimum wage via the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007; the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended terms for people to file discrimination claims; extending unemployment insurance for those affected by lay offs; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008, which provided protections against discrimination based on genetic information and predisposition to illnesses or disabilities; and though they have yet to pass, he was a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) which makes it easier for unions to organize by forcing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a union through a simple majority sign up, rather than a secret ballot election.

The changes that Kennedy has championed over his illustrious career have caused some pain in the Human Resources world. We’ve had to re-evaluate job descriptions for reasonable accommodation; we’ve had to struggle with the cumbersome administration of FMLA (big shout to our favorite, intermittent leave!); we’ve had to update our EEO statements to incorporate new protected classes; and we’ve had to order, and reorder, and reorder again those over-priced laminated mandatory labor law posters to just to keep up to date on all this stuff (for every building!!). Yet, the HR industry, as represented by its leading professional association, the Society for Human Resource Management, has supported much of the changes that Kennedy pioneered. The reason? Because like Kennedy, we see the value that diversity brings to the fabric of our country and agree that as employers, all should be given equal opportunity; that people should be compensated based on skill, not race, class, or gender; and that sometimes, those affected by unfortunate, uncontrollable circumstances, like an unexpected illness or the onset of disability, need assistance and deserve protections.

As controversial as Kennedy was, one thing is clear: he made a big impact on his community, his country, and the world and all are a better place for it.

Rest in peace, Senator.

Image respectfully "borrowed" from Kennedy's Senate website, kennedy.senate.gov