Current legislative issues related to human resources will be the focus of a series of briefings The Council will conduct for members at various locations around the state in the weeks ahead.

Tom Minnick, manager of The Council's Center for Human Resources, will discuss HR-related bills that were discussed or acted upon during the 2001 legislative session.

Topics to be discussed include proposals to require employers to provide paid family medical leave and to increase the state's minimum wage. The Council opposes these proposals.

The Assembly has passed a bill to increase the minimum wage to $6.75 per hour; a bill to require paid leave is on the Assembly calendar. Both bills are being considered by Senate Labor Committees, Minnick said.

These issues will become more prominent in legislative debate in the months ahead because next year is an election year, Minnick said.

Briefings are set for: 9 a.m. Aug. 9, at Jackson Lewis in Woodbury, Long Island; 8 a.m. Aug. 15 at Corning Incorporated in Corning; 3 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Manufacturers' Association of Central New York, Syracuse; 8 a.m. Aug. 21 at the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, Plattsburgh; 3 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, Glens Falls; and 10 a.m. Aug. 28 at Milliman, USA at Penn Plaza, Manhattan.