September 15, 2017
HR Policy Chair Mirian Graddick-Weir, Executive Vice President, Human Resources for Merck & Co., Inc., kicked off the first Washington Policy Conference of the Trump era saying, "We have never been in a period when the tension created for our companies by the political landscape has been higher." The program, which included appearances by Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), bore out Ms. Graddick-Weir's point, highlighting challenges at all levels of government facing employers in health care, executive compensation, immigration, workplace regulations, and other policy arenas. Meanwhile, developments in technology have raised serious questions about the future of the American workforce. Secretary Acosta highlighted the need to prepare the workforce for such disruption, stating, "Our education system needs to be reformed to teach skills that are demanded by the modern workplace." View the 2017 Washington Policy Conference webpage for more details.
