Matthew B. Halpern

Partner

Long Island Office

58 South Service Road
Suite 410
Melville, NY 11747

Phone: (631) 247-4603

Fax: (631) 247-0417

Areas of Practice

Disability, Leave and Health Management

Litigation

Reductions in Force

Wage and Hour

Affirmative Action

Management Training

Admitted to Practice

States:
New York	(1987)
Massachusetts	(1986)
District Courts:
New York Eastern District Court	(1988)
New York Southern District Court	(1988)

Education

Law School:	New England School of Law J.D., 1986
Undergraduate:	State University of New York at Buffalo B.A., 1983 Cum Laude

Bar and Professional Association Memberships

American Bar Association
Board of Saint Mary's Childrens and Family Services	1997 - Present
New York State Bar Association
Northeast Region Corporate Industry Liaison Group	1996 - Present

Biography

Matt Halpern was a partner in the Long Island office of Jackson Lewis LLP and was the head of the firm’s affirmative action practice group.

Mr. Halpern graduated with honors from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1983 and received his Juris Doctor degree from the New England School of Law in 1986. He was admitted to the Bars of New York, Massachusetts and several federal courts. Mr. Halpern was a member of SHRM-LI and a frequent speaker at management education programs. He was the Treasurer and a member of the Northeast Region Corporate Industry Liaison Group, an industry association of federal contractors with corporate headquarters in the Metropolitan New York tri-state area.

Mr. Halpern was named to “The Ten Leaders in Employment Law” of Long Island for 2003-2004 based on a three-month peer survey by Digital Press International, and in 2005 received a career recognition award from SHRM-LI for his dedication to SHRM-LI and the human resource profession.

As the head of the firm’s Affirmative Action Practice group, Mr. Halpern regularly advised and counseled employers from all industries throughout the country about this highly specialized area of the law. The practice also prepares plans for and defends audits against State, local and city affirmative action agencies. The affirmative action team annually prepares over fifteen hundred affirmative action plans and over the past several years has defended over 350 OFCCP audits, including Corporate Management (“Glass Ceiling”) Compliance Evaluations. The affirmative action team regularly conducts mock OFCCP vulnerability audits, analyzes selection procedures for adverse impact, and advises about comparative compensation analysis and defends claims of class-based discrimination at the OFCCP investigation stage. The practice also counsels on diversity plan design and preparation of voluntary affirmative action plans.

Mr. Halpern was the co-author of Affirmative Action Compliance: The Reinvented OFCCP, published in the ACC Docket 22, No. 3 (March 2004):24-44, and author of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) on-line “InfoPak,” What Every General Counsel Needs To Know About Affirmative Action Compliance. He also was the co-presenter on two audio webcasts presented by ACC’s Employment & Labor Law Committee, and Jackson Lewis, LLP: What the OFCCP’S New Internet Applicant Rule Will Mean For Your Company (November 30, 2005) and The OFCCP's New Take on Systemic Compensation Discrimination and Voluntary Self Evaluation (August 16, 2006).

In addition to his affirmative action expertise, Mr. Halpern also specialized in counseling and defending employers in all matters related to compliance with State and federal EEO and wage hour laws, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. He had defended numerous wage hour audits and provided guidance to many employer associations about industry compliance with wage hour laws. Mr. Halpern also had extensive experience in counseling and defending employers in matters relating to privacy issues in the workplace.

Mr. Halpern conducted hundreds of management training seminars on lawful pathway’s to diversity, affirmative action and EEO in the workplace; avoiding litigation; avoiding discrimination and sexual harassment; effective management, interviewing, documentation and evaluation skills; compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and FMLA, and other related matters. He was an engaging and effective speaker who drew upon his litigation and client counseling experience to provide practical examples that were useful and easily understood by listeners.