Some of SHRM’s largest affiliates stress independence after $11.5 million discrimination verdict

• At least 10 affiliates of the world's biggest HR group, SHRM, have posted statements clarifying their independence.
• The messages followed an $11.5 million discrimination verdict against the main org, which it plans to appeal.
• "The intent is to inform our audience," said Rafael Rivera, CEO of SHRM's largest affiliate.

Some of the largest affiliates of the Society for Human Resource Management have publicly reaffirmed their operational independence from the trade group after it lost an employee-discrimination lawsuit in a $11.5 million verdict.

Business Insider identified LinkedIn posts from 10 US affiliates that reference the case that led to the so-called "nuclear" verdict on Dec. 5. That includes SHRM's largest affiliate, in Southern California, which has roughly 3,500 members. All the posts stress how the groups operate independently from SHRM international, which is based in Virginia.

"While we are an affiliated chapter of SHRM, we are not governed by SHRM's management, and we were not involved in this case," said New York City SHRM.

"We have our own bylaws, board, finances, programming, and strategic priorities," wrote Chicago SHRM.

NYC SHRM and Chicago SHRM say they have around 1,400 and 1,000 members, respectively.

Similar statements were posted on LinkedIn by SHRM affiliates in the northeastern US, Texas, Oregon, Illinois, and California. The vast majority of affiliates have not publicly commented on the legal situation.

SHRM says it has 556 chapters worldwide. The organization sends some funds to its chapters, which may encourage local members to get certified and may also require members to pay dues to the international organization. Chapters are one kind of affiliate; state councils, of which there are 51, are another.

The organization said in response to Business Insider's questions that the independence of its affiliates "has always been the case."

"We actually make a point of reminding our chapters and state councils that they are separate legal entities and make their own operational decisions," SHRM representative Eddie Burke said in an email. He didn't respond to questions about the substance of the posts.

The lawsuit that SHRM lost earlier this month was filed in 2022 by Rehab Mohamed, an Egyptian woman who worked at the association as an instructional designer from 2016 until 2020. She said in her complaint that she was racially discriminated against by a white supervisor and faced retaliation for complaining to management.

A Colorado federal jury found SHRM liable on both fronts. The association was hit with $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million for punitive damages. SHRM has said it plans to file an appeal and that the jury's decision "does not reflect the facts, the law, or the truth of how" it operates.

Jane Billbe, president of Washington State SHRM, told Business Insider in an email that its post "was intended to provide clarity for our members and stakeholders — not to distance ourselves from SHRM."

The California affiliate, the Professionals In Human Resources Association, wrote on LinkedIn that its code of ethics requires "that everyone involved with PIHRA act with integrity, comply with applicable laws, and treat others with dignity and respect, free from discrimination, harassment, or retaliation."

Rafael Rivera, the affiliate's CEO since 2010, told Business Insider that he couldn't recall ever issuing a statement like it and believed some of his group's members were unaware of the distinction between the affiliate and main branch, or that SHRM had just lost an employee-discrimination case.

"The intent is to inform our audience that may not have the information," he said. "They may assume that we're one and the same."

It's not the first time SHRM and its chapters haven't seen eye-to-eye. In 2016, SHRM sued a Northern California chapter for planning to hold its "HR West" event out of state without buy-in from SHRM chapters covering the cities where the event was to be held. The suit was dropped after the judge suggested that the agreement between the two parties wasn't as airtight as SHRM had asserted.

Burke, the SHRM spokesperson, said that chapter "is no longer part of our affiliated network."

Some of the SHRM affiliates that posted on LinkedIn after the recent verdict wrote that they were speaking out because they'd been receiving inquiries from members concerned about the lawsuit and their affiliate's relationship to SHRM international. Some chapters require their members to also be members of SHRM, which increased its annual fee by 13% earlier this year, to $299. Burke said SHRM wouldn't be increasing dues this year.

In addition to membership, SHRM sells access to HR educational materials and credentialing programs, and bills itself as "the foremost expert, researcher, advocate, and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today's evolving workplaces."

Ahead of the trial, SHRM made an unsuccessful bid to have the plaintiff's lawyers barred from portraying it as a specialist in HR best practices. During the proceedings, the plaintiff argued that SHRM botched its own HR investigation into Mohamed's accusations of discrimination and retaliation.

One SHRM affiliate, DallasHR, said in its statement on LinkedIn that the verdict underscored the need for HR professionals to support and learn from one another.

"This is a validation of one of the core reasons DallasHR exists," the group said. "Too often we assume in our organizations we are 'all trained up' and 'that would never happen here.' But none of us should rest on yesterday's knowledge."