Timeline: Months 1–6

Phase 1 focuses on listening, learning, and relationship-building. We are convening HR professionals, employment attorneys, worker advocates, employees, researchers, and employers to surface shared concerns and build common ground.

We are gathering stories, mapping risks and harms caused by unregulated HR practices, and refining the case for professional licensure based on real-world experience.

How you can participate:
Join the coalition, share your perspective or lived experience, connect us with stakeholders, or help shape the early conversation.

Timeline: Months 6–12

Phase 2 translates dialogue into substance.

With coalition partners and subject-matter experts, we examine licensure models from comparable professions, identify gaps in current HR regulation, and outline potential standards for education, ethics, accountability, and reporting.

The goal is not to impose a single solution, but to develop thoughtful, evidence-based options that balance employee protection with organizational realities.

How you can participate:
Contribute research, review draft frameworks, provide legal or policy expertise, or help test ideas against real workplace scenarios.

Timeline: Months 12–24

Phase 3 brings the conversation into the public policy arena. Massachusetts will be the testing ground.

This phase includes outreach to legislators and regulators, public forums, written testimony, and open comment opportunities. Proposed approaches are refined based on feedback from HR professionals, employers, employees, and the public.

Any legislation that emerges will reflect iteration, transparency, and broad input.

How you can participate:
Support legislative education efforts, submit public comments, share the initiative with policymakers, or participate in hearings and forums.

Timeline: 24 months and beyond

Phase 4 focuses on implementation in Massachusetts and expansion to new states with model legislation.

This includes supporting transition periods for existing practitioners, ongoing education requirements, enforcement mechanisms, and continuous review to ensure licensure strengthens the profession without creating unnecessary burden.

How you can participate:
Serve in advisory roles, support implementation planning, help evaluate outcomes, or contribute to ongoing improvement of standards and oversight.