That applause you heard for the president's State of the Unionmessage was definitely not coming from the offices of the Societyfor Human Resource Management or the National Business Group onHealth, two trade associations that have closely followed thegovernment's strategy for overhauling the U.S. health caresystem.

SHRM took strong exceptions to several issues raised byPresident Obama, issues that have long had the president and SHRMpolicymakers at odds.

The Big Three human resources-related items on the president'sSOTU checklist were paid leave of absence, which Obama saidshould be expanded; overtime eligibility, which he said should beliberalized; and, of course, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which hedefended.

Here are SHRM's responses to those issues:

Paid leave: “The president's call for afederal sick leave mandate is the wrong approach to ensuring thatworkers have time off,” SHRM said in a statement. “As analternative, SHRM is committed to expanding voluntary workplaceflexibility initiatives, including paid leave and flexiblework arrangements, and welcomes further dialogue on proposals toencourage greater employer adoption of these initiatives.”

Overtime eligibility: SHRM opposed thisone on grounds that an expansion of overtime eligibility “couldhave the unintended consequence of moving potentially millions ofemployees from salary to hourly. The loss of exempt status for manyotherwise-exempt employees could limit career opportunities andprevent employee advancement.”

PPACA: “HR professionals continue toimplement the ACA's requirements, but not without challenges,”SHRM opined. The organization said its position is that the effectof the law on employers and employees should be eased, not mademore difficult and confusing, “such as modifying the definition ofa full-time employee as it relates to the coverage mandate.”

NBGH noted that the initial successes of PPACA — providing newcoverage for millions of Americans, and beginning to chip away athealth coverage cost increases — will require far more study andevaluation before they could be deemed long-term victories. Foreven though plan increases have lessened, costs continue tooutstrip the rate of inflation for most employers who offerhealth coverage.

“The President talked about the millions of newly-coveredAmericans and the moderation in health spending growth, but tosustain affordability and continue controlling costs, we need tostep up transforming health care delivery and reorienting caretoward wellness, prevention, and primary care,” Steve Wojcik, vicepresident of public policy at NBGH said. “While the Presidentsaid he would veto any bill that takes away peoples' healthinsurance, which I don't think anyone is intending to do, thatstill leaves lots of room for changes and improvements to theAffordable Care Act.”