by James DeChene

Two years ago, the State Chamber’s Healthcare Committee held an event on opioids to help employers to identify addiction in the workplace, find assistance for employees struggling with overcoming addiction, and shared examples of innovative employer policies that help to provide treatment options.  The event was the first of two planned events, the second of which will be held October 10, 2018, and will be a joint venture between the Healthcare Committee and the Employer Advocacy and Education Committee. We hope you, your HR staff, and other interested people will attend.

Battling opioid and other substance abuse is a nationally recognized issue. Delaware employers are no exception in facing the challenges brought on by this crisis. Join the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce for an informative panel discussion regarding opioid and substance abuse in the workplace. Panelists will share a diverse set of case studies illustrating how employers can and should handle various situations that affect all businesses, from a mom and pop shop, to a large company with internal HR and legal staff.

Moderators:
- Tim Holly , Connolly Gallagher, LLP
- Paula Roy, ROY Associates

Panelists:
- Becky Flood, President & CEO, Ashley Addiction Treatment Center
- Tricia Clendening, SHRM-SCP, GPHR, SPHR, HR Strategies, LLC
- Kevin Fasic, Offit Kurman
- Shannon DeLucia, Hotel DuPont
- Jamie Danner, Senior Benefit Consultant, Kelly Benefit Strategies

Free to attend for DSCC Members / $15 admission for Future Members
Continental Breakfast will be provided

This week the State of Delaware signed an agreement with Gulftainer to run the Port of Wilmington. Under terms of the 50-year deal, Gulftainer has pledged to invest $600 million in upgrades and build a new container-handling terminal on the Delaware at Edgemoor.  The deal also has the potential to double the number of jobs (currently around 5,700) in the coming years, providing a blue-collar job resurgence in an area in desperate need of those types of jobs.

Last night the State Chamber hosted its annual networking table top event at the Chase Center, in partnership with the Better Business Bureau of Delaware.  Billed as the largest business to business networking event in the state, with over 100 exhibitors and over 600 attendees, the event was a successful matchup among Chamber members, highlighting the variety of businesses Delaware has to offer.

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t wish Rich Heffron a very happy birthday.  Lucky for him it falls on a Friday this year, just in time for our Weekly Report to go out.

The Chamber would also like to wish James DeChene a happy birthday, as he and Rich were both born on September 21! Happy Birthday to them both!

by James DeChene

On the heels of the Carney Administration signing a package of bills this week designed to help combat Delaware’s opioid crisis, the State Chamber will be holding a seminar for employers to learn more about strategies for handling opioids, drugs and alcohol in the workplace.

We will be presenting three employer case examples of opioid and alcohol abuse for panelists to discuss, and offer guidance and advice on how employers can/should handle the situations portrayed. The case studies involve a small “mom and pop” business with no HR capacity, a mid-sized employer (roughly 150 employees) with employee manuals, but no sophisticated HR capacity, and a large employer with in-house HR and legal staffs. The panelists will react to the studies presented, but also add useful insights or advice to Chamber members attending.

by James DeChene

​Congratulations to last night’s primary election winners as they now will go on to face their general election opponents (unless they were one of the few who have no general election candidate, and have therefore will be in office in January 2019).

Candidates in red have received DSCC PAC contributions. Head to our Advocacy page to learn more about the Chamber's involvement with legislative issues.