CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Unum (NYSE:UNM) is once again teaming up with the Disability Management
Employer Coalition (DMEC) to offer a series of online educational forums
on disability and absence management.
“This forum continues to be very popular, offering a great resource for
some of the hottest topics that employers and industry professionals
must deal with every day,” said Marcia Carruthers, chief executive
officer for DMEC. “Given the convenient and virtual format, it is an
easy and cost-effective way to meet ongoing educational needs.”
DMEC is the only non-profit devoted to integrated disability and absence
management. Its membership represents employers from the Fortune 500 to
those with fewer than 500 employees. Unum and DMEC have partnered in
producing the Virtual Education Series since 2002, making it one of the
first such web-based learning forums in the industry.
“Unum is excited to be able to offer participants a chance to learn from
industry experts and employers on ways to manage employee health,
disability, absence and productivity,” said Phil Bruen, vice president
of Unum’s national client group practice. “Participation in these forums
continues to increase, which underscores the strong interest in and need
for a forum to share ideas and information.”
The 2011 winter-spring forum schedule is as follows:
- Feb. 8: FMLA Patterns and Trends: FMLA Utilization by Employer Size
and Industry – a 2010 study – This session will highlight the
patterns of family and medical leave (FML) use across a sample of 64
employers with a combined workforce of 350,000 employees. The data
will focus on the use of intermittent and full FML leave across
industry and workforce size segments.
Presenter: Kenneth
Mitchell, Ph.D., and researcher
- March 8: Integrating Absence Management Programs: When and How Does
It Really Pay Off? A Consultant’s Roundtable – This session will
go beyond the fundamentals of integrated health and productivity
benefits and will provide a candid view of what works, what doesn’t
and why.
Presenters:Mary Tavarozzi, senior consultant,
Health and Productivity Lead, Towers Watson; and Karen English,
partner, Spring Consulting Group
- May 10: Johnny’s Not Back To Work?!!!: Corporate Strategies for the
Less-Than-Motivated – Calibrating the likelihood of a successful
return-to-work program will be presented, along with corporate
worker’s compensation and disability case studies applying a unique
motivational model.
Presenters:Kenneth Mitchell, Ph.D.,
WorkRx Group, Ltd., and an employer representative to be determined.
- June 7: Voluntary Benefits: Who Buys What and Why? – A Study of
Employer Benefit Buying Habits – This session will provide
insights gained through an industry wide study defining employer
benefit buying habits.
Presenters:Unum researchers
- Sept. 13: 2011 FMLA Regulations and Legal Update– This
session will provide an update on new, current and pending FMLA
regulations and legal cases.
Presenters:Angela Ripper,
AVP, senior counsel, Unum; and Helen Applewaite, branch chief, FMLA,
U.S. Department of Labor
- Oct. 11: Protecting Productivity: The Impact of Transitional Work
in the Current Economic Environment: An Empirical Study–
This session will share the outcomes of a 2010 international study on
the impact of transitional work as a lost-time management tool. There
will be an emphasis on the influence of corporate culture, policy and
practices.
Presenters:Kristin Tugman and Heidi Bimrose,
directors of health and productivity at Unum; Joy Reymond, head of
rehabilitation and medical services at Unum UK; and an employer
representative to be determined.
These sessions are held on Tuesdays at noon Eastern/ 9 a.m. Pacific. The
one-hour presentations will be followed by a 30-minute
question-and-answer session. To register, visit www.dmec.org
and select Virtual Education Forums under the Conferences & Events tab.
About Unum
Unum (http://www.unum.com)
is one of the leading providers of employee benefits products and
services in the United States and the United Kingdom. Through its
subsidiaries, Unum Group paid approximately $6 billion in total benefits
to customers in 2009.
About DMEC
The Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) is a non-profit
organization that provides educational resources to employers in the
areas of disability, absence, health, and productivity. The primary goal
of DMEC is to assist employers in developing cost-saving programs,
encouraging responsive market products, and returning employees to
productive employment. Visit www.dmec.org
for more information about educational publications and events.
Source: Unum
Contact:
Unum
Dawn McAbee, 423-294-1892
dmcabee@unum.com