MA Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFMLL)

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Remote Meeting

      8:00 AM - 8:10 AM Welcome from Amy Sabato
    8:10 AM - 8:20 AM - Chapter Business
8:20AM -  8:30 AM  Legislative Update
8:30 AM -8:45 AM Sponsor
    8:45 - 10:30 Program

Approved for 1.50 SHRM,   HRCI credits pending

Topic:  MA Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFMLL)

Starting on January 1, 2021, employees will become eligible for paid time off under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (PFMLL).  Many HR professionals are wondering how the PFMLL will interact with existing employer policies, especially given the anticipation of an onslaught of requests as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. This program will cover the important updates from the recently revised PFMLL regulations and explain the various considerations that employers should take to get ready as the Department of Family and Medical Leave continues to implement the PFMLL.

Our Speakers: Janette A. Ekanem & Debra Dyleski-Najjar

Janette A. Ekanem is an associate at the law firm Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP (HRW) where she represents businesses, nonprofits, human service providers, colleges, universities, and other entities in a variety of employment matters.  Attorney Ekanem’s practice involves providing comprehensive counsel on hiring, personnel policies, discrimination, retaliation, investigations, pay equity, and wage and hour compliance. 

Attorney Ekanem has served as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s (MBA) Labor and Employment Section Council, and she currently chairs the MBA Paid Family and Medical Leave Working Group.  

In 2020, Attorney Ekanem was selected to Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, and is recognized in the 2021 edition of Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch.  In 2019, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly honored Attorney Ekanem as an “Up & Coming Lawyer,” and she received the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from ClarkJanette  University.

Attorney Ekanem holds a B.A. in Government and International Relations, Magna Cum Laude, (2009) and a Master of Public Administration (2010), from Clark University.  She is a 2013 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law.

Debra Dyleski-Najjar, Legislative Director of the GMVHRA,  is president and founder of the Najjar Employment Law Group, PC (NELGPC) with offices in Boston and Andover, MA. NELGPC is a boutique management labor, employment and benefits firm. Prior to founding NELGPC in April 2008, she practiced employment law for over 25 years and was an equity partner in a 250-attorney regional law firm. Debra earned her B.A. from Wellesley College in 1980 and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1983 where she was editor of the Law Review. She is a past chair and current member of the New Hampshire Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section, and a member of the Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association and the ABA’s International Labor and Employment Law Subcommittee. In 2007, she was inducted as a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and serves as the chair of the First Circuit Credentialing Committee. She is a credentialed member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the 2005 graduating class of Leadership New Hampshire.   She has been recognized in Best Lawyers of America in the field of management employment law, and recognized as a Super Lawyer (an honor bestowed on only 5% of attorneys) for fifteen consecutive years.  She is the Massachusetts State Council Government Affairs Director for the Society of Human Resource Management, and serves on the advisory board of the Lawrence Partnership. Debra has extensive experience representing employers in complex litigation, conducts investigations into alleged harassment and misconduct, defends employers before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, and assists and counsels employers on matters involving harassment, discrimination, ADA, FMLA, OSHA, ERISA, FLSA, diversity, immigration and other workplace compliance and risk management issues. Debra is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, the First Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. She is a frequent author, speaker, counselor and trainer on workplace issues, and serves on the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Task Force.

Our Sponsor: 

Background In 1982, healthcare costs were rising at an astronomical 14.1% and employers were struggling with a recession that required them to do more with less. The employee benefits market, long a key component in attracting and retaining the best employees had now become a huge drag on corporate profitability. Against that background, Jennifer Borislow understood the need to create a consultative advisory firm to help employers make strategic decisions and survive those challenging times. At the time, a benefits consultancy was a completely unique model. Today, a number of firms talk about their “outside-the-box” thinking. At Borislow, we never had a box.

In 2005, Mark Gaunya joined the firm as a partner, bringing over 20 years’ experience in employee benefits and the healthcare industry. His innovative, creative and disruptive vision have helped to shape the agency through a period of consistent growth and practice expansion. Today, Mark is a co-owner of the firm and serves as its Chief Innovation Officer. Despite a culture of constant innovation, the basic principles on which Borislow was founded have not changed and have been the bedrock of client relationships that last, on average, more than 15 years. The firm has grown from its initial 4 employees serving the New England market to more than 50 employees serving clients across the USA and internationally.

21st Century Advisory Today’s business owners and managers are dealing with complexity that was unthinkable just a few short years ago. From a wide array of compliance issues to Consumer Directed Health Plans with a variety of spending account options, and helping create a climate of health and wellbeing for employees, we meet each client where their needs are. Sometimes those client needs are quite traditional – and we are happy to suggest traditional solutions. Other times, the needs are anything but traditional. When the law changed and a group of our clients who were in the same industry could no longer purchase together to drive market efficiencies, we helped them to build their own self-governed captive health insurance company. Completely untraditional, and extremely effective!

Location:

Webinar

For more information:

Contact: Lisa Lemieux, PHR, SHRM-CP

Phone: 978-204-3207
Email:  lemieux.hr@gmail.com