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Event Details

    MA Paid Family & Medical Leave

    Date: November 5, 2020, 8:00am – 10:30am
    Organizer:
    GMVHRA
    Location:
    Virtual
    Price:
    Guest - (First time only) Non-Member – $35.00 Non-Member - Meeting Package Registration code required
    Event Type:
    Meeting
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    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.