That applause you heard for the president's State of the Union message was definitely not coming from the offices of the Society for Human Resource Management or the National Business Group on Health, two trade associations that have closely followed the government's strategy for overhauling the U.S. health care system.

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

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

Here are SHRM's responses to those issues:

Paid leave: “The president's call for a federal sick leave mandate is the wrong approach to ensuring that workers have time off,” SHRM said in a statement. “As an alternative, SHRM is committed to expanding voluntary workplace flexibility initiatives, including paid leave and flexible work arrangements, and welcomes further dialogue on proposals to encourage greater employer adoption of these initiatives.”

Overtime eligibility: SHRM opposed this one on grounds that an expansion of overtime eligibility “could have the unintended consequence of moving potentially millions of employees from salary to hourly. The loss of exempt status for many otherwise-exempt employees could limit career opportunities and prevent employee advancement.”

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

NBGH noted that the initial successes of PPACA — providing new coverage for millions of Americans, and beginning to chip away at health coverage cost increases — will require far more study and evaluation before they could be deemed long-term victories. For even though plan increases have lessened, costs continue to outstrip the rate of inflation for most employers who offer health coverage.

“The President talked about the millions of newly-covered Americans and the moderation in health spending growth, but to sustain affordability and continue controlling costs, we need to step up transforming health care delivery and reorienting care toward wellness, prevention, and primary care,” Steve Wojcik, vice president of public policy at NBGH said. “While the President said he would veto any bill that takes away peoples' health insurance, which I don't think anyone is intending to do, that still leaves lots of room for changes and improvements to the Affordable Care Act.”