DHRM that the 2021 Annual Governor’s Honor Awards will be accepting nominations between June 7, 2021 – July 1, 2021. Looking forward to seeing DWR staff win a few! The 11 award categories for this year are as follows:
=>Champion of Change
=>Courageous Leader
=>Innovative Spirit
=>Administration Excellence
=>Personal and Professional Excellence
=>Support Service
=>Diversity, Inclusion and Outreach
=>Creative Customer Service
=>Heroism
=>Public Service
=>Pandemic Response
Beginning July 1, Virginia employers will be subject to the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (“Overtime Act”), which adds new state overtime pay requirements. Previously, Virginia employers applied the overtime pay requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. Like the FLSA, the Overtime Act obligates employers to pay one and one-half times an employee’s regular rate of pay for hours physically worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. The Overtime Act also waives sovereign immunity for the Commonwealth.
This means that DWR nonexempt employees are no longer eligible to receive compensatory leave or overtime leave instead of overtime pay except for Law Enforcement Officers II’s (CPOs) and non-exempt Law Enforcement Officers III’s (field Sergeants) as set forth in subsection A of 9.1-701.
DHRM has provided a summary of the Virginia Overtime Wage Act and how it will impact rate calculations for non-exempt employees.
“The Road to Cultural Competence” is now available on the COVLC. This introductory module is an online, professional learning experience in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competence (DEI and CC) whose creation was required by the General Assembly through the passage of H581 in March 2020, and the Code of Virginia 2.2-1201. It is a required learning experience for employees of the Commonwealth of Virginia. New state employees are expected to complete it within 90 days of their start-date with the Commonwealth, and existing employees are expected to complete it within the first six months of its release, which is June 7, 2021. It is a foundational learning experience that will be a prerequisite for all further learning sessions created by the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM), and is to be seen as a necessary “first step” toward in-depth learning and development of our state workforce in DEI. The DHRM will be organizing and facilitating sequenced learning experiences and resources for use throughout the Commonwealth in the coming months, as part of an effort to develop a learning community around DEI issues within the state workforce, and to include, affirm, and encourage the contributions and talents of each state employee.
This online course takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and contains 5 questions spread out through the presentation, which require a written response. You must respond to all questions in order to receive credit for the training. Once you have successfully completed the course, please provide a PDF copy or a print copy of your COVLC DHRM – The Road to Cultural Competence completion certificate to Lisa Fore, Human Resources Assistant in Human Resources for processing. You must use Google Chrome as your web browser for the online course to display properly.
All DWR employees (classified and wage) must complete this online course by close of business on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.