ShelterPoint to Lead the First NYS Paid Family Leave Expert Panel
Garden City, New York, (July 5, 2017) – ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company has created an expert educational panel that will discuss the impact of New York State’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) mandate on employers, employees and the business community. The discussion, titled, “What is Paid Family Leave (PFL)? What does it mean for employers and employees?” will take place Wednesday, July 12, 2017.
“The creation of this cross-disciplinary event stems from ShelterPoint Life’s foundational belief that we have a responsibility to simplify the process and educational curve of this new law for employers and employees,” stated Brian Dunham, Chief Actuary of ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company. “With a deep understanding of the PFL mandate, this panel will educate attendees on the impact of PFL on all stakeholders to help ease the transition and reduce the uncertainty as we move toward the January 1, 2018, implementation date.”
Panel participants include leadership from ShelterPoint Life (New York’s largest DBL carrier, based on 2015’s DB-680 reports) and the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), as well as legal subject matter experts from Jackson Lewis PC and Genser Dubow, Genser & Cona LLP. Panelists will delve into topics such as how to mitigate risk regardless of a business’ number of employees; how to address compliance considerations and protect both business and employee interests; how to best prepare for the mandate and understand the law’s financial and administrative burdens; and how the law may impact business operations.
When: Wednesday, July 12, 2017
8:00 am – 10:00 am a light breakfast will be served
8:30 am – 9:30 am panel discussion
9:30 am – 10:00 am question-and-answer session with panel
10:00 am – 10:30 am press-only question-and-answer session with panel
Where: Jackson Lewis
58 South Service Road – Building Auditorium
Melville, NY 11747
To access via live stream: https://www.facebook.com/ShelterPointGroup
About the Panelists:
Brian Dunham, Chief Actuary for ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company, will serve as the Company’s panel representative. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Dunham has worked closely with the insurance and regulatory community to help make PFL a successful public-private partnership. Dunham has worked in a variety of actuarial, product management and financial officer roles in the employer group insurance market, spanning medical, dental, life, and disability lines of business. He frequently speaks at industry conferences, and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries.
Henry S. Shapiro, an associate in the Long Island office of Jackson Lewis P.C., also will participate in the expert discussion. Shapiro’s practice focuses on representing employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counsel. Shapiro also practices in traditional labor law areas such as collective bargaining, labor arbitration and unfair labor practice proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. Additionally, he litigates employment disputes regarding discrimination, harassment and retaliation before federal and state courts, as well as the EEOC and the New York State Division of Human Rights and is well versed in all forms of alternate dispute resolution. Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Mr. Shapiro worked with a law firm representing individuals in administrative hearings for disability benefits. He is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association.
Samantha Halfen, the Legislative Chair for SHRM-LI, will lend her expertise in human resources field to the panel – she has worked in the industry for more than 12 years. Halfen is director of human resources for Heatherwood Communities, a real estate management firm. She is an accredited human resources professional with expertise in human resources management and regulatory compliance and employment law. Halfen also has been active in the Society for Human Resource Management – Long Island Chapter (SHRM-LI).
Melissa Negrin-Wiener, a partner at Genser Dubow Genser & Cona, will round out the panel with her experience as manager of the firm’s Employee Benefits Program and Government Benefits Department. She practices primarily in Medicaid eligibility planning, asset protection planning, disability matters, guardianships, estate planning, and veteran benefits. Negrin-Wiener supervises the preparation of Medicaid applications for nursing home care, home health care and community benefits. She serves as co-chair of the Healthcare Committee of the Hauppauge Industrial Association of Long Island, is past president of the Suffolk County Women’s Bar Association, and former vice president of Programs and Membership and the past co-chair of the Elder Law Committee.
Monique Tapie of Triomphant Communications will moderate the panel. Tapie has over 20 years of communications and public affairs experience working for and advising some of the world’s leading companies, government entities and organizations.
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Contact: Adar Novak
Phone: 917-453-4801
Email: anovak@triomphantcommunications.com
Monique Tapie
Phone: 917-757-4866
Email: mtapie@triomphantcommunications.com
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About ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company
ShelterPoint Life was founded in 1972 as The First Rehabilitation Insurance Company of America (First Rehab Life) and is headquartered in Garden City, NY. Since its inception, ShelterPoint Life has grown into New York’s largest1 statutory disability carrier and holds the rating of A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company and A- by Standard & Poor’s. Through the years, ShelterPoint Life has added additional employee benefits to its product portfolio and currently insures more than 150,000 employers and over 1.3 million individual insureds. In 2014, First Rehab Life changed its name to ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company. For more information about ShelterPoint, please visit www.shelterpoint.com
1 State of New York Workers’ Compensation Board, form DB-680, 2014 – applies to statutory disability premiums under ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company
