SHRM PDCs

James J. McDonald, Jr. is a partner in the Irvine, California and Tampa, Florida offices of Fisher & Phillips LLP, where he is a litigator, trial lawyer and strategic advisor to employers regarding labor and employment law matters.  He is author of the SHRM-published book, California Employment Law: An Employer’s Guide, and he is a frequent speaker on employment law issues.  He is a cum laude law graduate of Georgetown University and a member of the California and Florida Bars, and he holds the SHRM-SCP certification.

 

 

Avalyn C. Langemeier, a Partner with Foster LLP's Houston office, graduated cum laude from Harvard University and the University of Texas at Austin Law School. She handles a wide variety of employment and compliance-based immigration matters. Her practice includes assisting public and private employers in the management of immigration processes for key personnel. Ms. Langemeier works closely with employers in the healthcare industry, academia and oil industry to prepare and file the necessary petitions and applications on behalf of physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, professors, researchers, administrators and professionals. She also works with religious workers. Ms. Langemeier assists in filing for work visas and for permanent residence based on PERM labor certification applications (basic, special and hybrid) and petitions based on extraordinary ability, being an outstanding researcher or professor or international manager, and national interest waiver petitions. She provides clients her expertise in connection with Form 1-9 audits, workforce compliance, J-1waivers, and H-1B site visits. Ms. Langemeier is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the State Bar of California, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth  Circuits. Ms. Langemeier is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, serves on the AILA Health Care Professionals Committee, and continues to serve and has served as liaison for the American Immigration Council's Creative Writing Contest for Fifth Graders for several years. She is an invited member of the International Who's Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers and was nominated for Best Lawyer in Immigration Law. Ms. Langemeier is a frequent speaker on immigration matters, including having spoken at conferences hosted by the Texas State Bar, the AILA Texas Chapter and AILA National, the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), and universities and healthcare organizations.

Steven is the human resources coordinator at the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County (Indianapolis, Indiana).  His experience includes all areas of human resources, with specific focus on compliance, employee relations and training and development.  He holds an MBA from Western Governors University and a bachelor’s degree in theatre from Indiana State University.  His experience ranges from human resources positions in healthcare and manufacturing companies to directing and producing theatrical productions.  Perhaps most surprisingly, the skills used to direct plays and musicals transfer very well to human resources.  Investigating and advising on employee matters and corralling actors are remarkably comparable – following policies or following scripts, doing them the right way builds an efficient workforce and gets a standing ovation!

David Lindgren is a Senior Manager with Flexible Benefit Service Corporation (Flex), a fullservice wholesale insurance firm and administrator of tax-advantaged benefit plans based in Rosemont, Illinois. David oversees the Compliance and Public Affairs departments at Flex and brings fifteen years of experience to his role.

He is a subject matter expert in the areas of ERISA, HIPAA, Cafeteria Plans, Healthcare Reform and various Employee Benefit Programs, including consumer-driven plans that incorporate Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and wellness programs.

Two themes are woven throughout Lauraine Bifulco's diverse career: a passion for a job well done and a zest for continual learning and improvement.  Lauraine infuses Vantaggio HR with these qualities every day. When she founded the firm in 1994, Lauraine combined her rare talent in understanding what a client needs and her gift of business foresight to create a company that can service the HR and management consulting needs of small and large companies equally well.  Today, Vantaggio serves clients across the country from their offices in California, Hawaii, Colorado, and New York. 

Her Career experience helps employers realize their HR goals and adapt to the shifting HR landscape.  Lauraine is a veteran HR executive and entrepreneur with 25 years of international, corporate, and consulting experience. Her bold career has taken her to employment and business opportunities in Europe and multiple U.S. cities. She serves as co-chair of the California Small Business Administration's committee on Labor Issues which reviews and makes recommendations on pending labor/employment laws, keeping her abreast of legal developments.                                                                            

Delivering over 30 presentations and webinars each year, Lauraine is a well-respected, and highly sought after guest lecturer and speaker on a variety of business management and HR-related topics for both state and national organizations including Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA), American Payroll Association (APA), Next Concept HR Association (NCHRA), Paylocity annual Elevate Conference, and HR Star Conference to name a few. She has been invited to review, develop, and deliver certificate programs for SHRM, and has developed and delivered curriculum for businesses throughout the U.S.                                                                   

Lauraine received a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and conducted graduate level studies in linguistics at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Mr. Rittof is the President and CEO of Modern Management, Inc. and an employee relations consultant His proactive approach to employee relations has roots in a broad spectrum of activities including organizational re-design studies, employee opinion surveys, communication audits, and labor relations seminars. As President/CEO, he leads a team of dedicated professionals in helping executives, managers, and supervisors face the challenges of the future. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mr. Rittof holds a B.A. and M.A. in Organizational Communication. He has taught at the university level and is co-author of Quality Circles, a textbook utilized by several universities and businesses. Since joining the firm over 33 years ago, he has consulted in virtually all aspects of employee relations. His experience encompasses healthcare, manufacturing, gaming, hospitality, banking, services, insurance, and government. A few of Mr. Rittof’s many accomplishments include successfully assisting numerous organizations in maintaining non-union status; providing preventive management training programs regarding the union campaign process; developing identification and action planning processes for responding to employee morale issues; and implementing communication plans for organizations in transition. He has also provided coaching and guidance for executives wishing to improve their public speaking skills and frequently facilitated executive retreats for strategic planning and team building.

Joseph (“Joe”) Beachboard is a nationally recognized employment lawyer who also closely tracks the most important developments at the U.S. Supreme Court impacting the business community. He has more than 30 years of experience representing management in a wide variety of employment and labor matters in perhaps the most challenging state in the nation for employers – California.  Mr. Beachboard speaks regularly before human resource and employer groups on cutting edge employment law topics.  He is a member of SHRM and has been an annual presenter at both the SHRM Annual Conference and the Employment Law and Compliance Conference for two decades.  Mr. Beachboard is frequently quoted in such leading publications as HR Magazine, National Law Journal, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, HR Executive and Workforce, and has been published in dozens of legal and business journals. Throughout his career in Los Angeles, Mr. Beachboard has represented dozens of studios and entertainment properties.  He cites his most interesting project as working with the cast and crew of the television show The Office, from its pilot through the final season.

 

 

John Fay is an attorney and technologist with a deep applied knowledge of business immigration, I-9 compliance and E-Verify rules and procedures.  During his twenty-plus year career, John has advised corporations, educational institutions, and individuals on a variety of U.S. immigration and I-9 issues.  At the same time, he has also been uniquely involved in information technology, having designed several immigration and I-9 management software applications.

As Director of Product Strategy at Equifax, John provides strategic leadership and direction in the development and support of Form I-9, E-Verify, and immigration case management software solutions.