Meet Our Team: Q&A with Human Resources Member Consultant Elise Heifort

Do you have questions about local government best practices? Unsure of state and federal paid leave law requirements? Wondering how newly-passed legislation will impact your city?

League Human Resources Member Consultant Elise Heifort assists member cities with their daily questions by providing a wealth of knowledge on all things HR!

Please describe the work your team does. 

The Human Resources Department at the League offers a variety of resources and services to help members achieve their goals of fostering a healthy and successful workplace. As the HR Member Consultant, I work closely with the League’s Assistant Human Resources Director Joyce Hottinger and other HR staff as needed. We serve the League’s members by providing daily HR consulting excellence, developing and updating HR member resources and publications, and presenting various HR trainings to members and public sector organizations.

Some of the recurring training events we participate in include, but are not limited to, the LMC Clerks Academy, Minnesota Municipal Clerks Institute (MMCI), LMC Loss Control series as well as various regional clerks trainings and those of other associations upon request. In addition to member services, the League’s HR team provides human resources support to the approximately 120 League employees who work on behalf of members.  

What schooling and work experience did you have before taking this role? 

I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth (go Bulldogs!) where I studied communication and human resources management. I then graduated from the University of St. Thomas School of Law with a Juris Doctor and practiced labor and employment law in Greater Minnesota, representing small to mid-size public sector clients with complex, pre-litigation employment and labor law issues.   

While I am incredibly grateful for my education and experience practicing law, in my current role, I am consulting with members on all practical aspects of human resources.  

What are your top priorities during the fall months? What are you working on now? 

In addition to the year-round services we provide to our members, during the fall we work closely with the League’s intergovernmental relations staff and the League’s Human Resources & Data Practices Policy Committee to review the League’s policies for the upcoming legislative session. Another exciting event we look forward to each fall is the opportunity to present at the League’s annual Clerks Academy sessions in St. Paul and Staples.  

Currently, we are in the process of updating the League’s model personnel policy template to reflect the 2024 legislative session’s changes. Spoiler alert: this will include updated Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) optional policy language, so stay tuned! Along with updating the other great HR publications, we are partnering with the League’s communications team to develop visual summaries of the various state and federal paid leave laws, which we hope to release to members sometime in 2025 in preparation for the launch of Minnesota Paid Leave in January 2026.  

What is one thing you wish more members knew about your team? 

We are grateful for the trust our members extend to us by reaching out to ask important HR questions facing their cities. Researching the laws, best practices, and various resources to help cities do their best work is fun for us!  We love to brainstorm with cities so that, in consultation with their city attorney, they can determine the best course of action for their unique organizational needs. 

Why do you do what you do? 

I absolutely love that every day is different and there is always something new to learn!