By TODD J. TRANUM

President and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce & Executive Director of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier

With Election Day approaching, we encourage all employers in New York State to pay special attention to new election laws. Effective immediately, all employers must provide New York employees who are registered to vote with up to three hours’ time off to vote in any local, state, or federal election without loss of pay.

The law says that unless otherwise agreed to, as designated by the employer, time off will be at the beginning or end of a work shift. Employees who require time off to vote have to notify their employer not less than two working days before the day of the election. In addition, employers are required to conspicuously post notice of the provisions of the voter leave law and to keep them in place until the polls close on Election Day.

At the same time, state residents have even more voting opportunities this year because early voting is being implemented for the first time all across New York State. Voters will be allowed to cast their ballots as early as ten days prior to Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 5. In Chautauqua County early voting locations will be available selected hours between Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, November 3 at the Board of Elections Office in the Hall R. Clothier Building, Mayville, at Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood, and at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds 4-H Building in Dunkirk. For details about hours and specifics visit the Board of Elections page on the Chautauqua County website at www.co.chautauqua.ny.us.

For employers who are seeking additional information about the New York State Employee Leave Laws the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier have resources available as part of our online HR library. Any member business that does not already have access to this important resource can contact Kevin Sixbey, Director of Insurance Services, at (716) 366-6200 or (716) 494-1101 to learn more.

The Chamber and MAST strongly encourage all local registered voters to vote and be part of the important process of choosing our elected representatives.

Business After Hours at Southern Tier Brewing is Nov. 12

Register now for Business After Hours at Southern Tier Brewing Company! Once again this year the Chamber invites you to enjoy “Novemberfest” at Southern Tier Brewing Company. This ever popular Business After Hours event is set from 5-6:30pm on Tuesday, November 12. Networking with your fellow Chamber members and prospective members is always fun in this venue. The evening will feature appetizers, a business card door prize drawing, and a cash bar from their terrific brewery selections on tap. Many thanks to our sponsors for supporting this event: Affinity One Federal Credit Union, Anderson Cleaners, Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, DFT Communications, KeyBank, Media One Radio Group, OBSERVER, and The Post-Journal. Space is limited and this popular venue fills up quickly, so we encourage early registration. You can call the Chamber at 366-6200 or 484-1101, or register online at www.chautauquachamber.org.

Small Business Saturday is Nov. 30

Once again this year the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce will help to celebrate Small Business Saturday on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This annual event promoted nationally by American Express and its partners is designed to encourage holiday shoppers to spend some time in small, locally owned businesses that may offer unique and special items, thereby helping to support our local economy.

The Chamber of Commerce has signed on again this year as a Neighborhood Champion for Small Business Saturday. We will help to promote local businesses and help to run some local events for Small Business Saturday. If your small, locally owned business is a member of the Chamber, contact us no later than November 4 to be listed in our Small Business Saturday advertising. There is no additional cost to Chamber members to participate. In addition to print and radio advertising the Chamber will promote local businesses across social media platforms as well. For information or to participate, email the Chamber’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Sheila Webster, at swebster@chautauquachamber.org.

Submit member news for the Chautauqua Business Weekly email

Each Monday morning the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce emails approximately 2,500 business people throughout Chautauqua County with news of Chamber events and promotions, and now we invite members to submit brief news items for that email as well. We have found that transitioning away from our traditional monthly newsletter format and focusing on the Chautauqua Business Weekly Email provides for a more timely distribution of our member news items with a more broad visibility for this news content.

Members are invited to submit a paragraph up to 200 words, including a photo and a link to a web page, social media, or email where readers can learn more information. The deadline for these submissions is 4pm each Thursday to ensure inclusion in the upcoming Monday email. All submissions should be emailed to Sheila Webster at swebster@chautauquachamber.org.

Health insurance open enrollment is underway

Through the expansion of plan options and solutions available through the Chamber of Commerce, we can now provide even greater value to our members. To outline all of this, the Chamber’s licensed in-house broker, Kevin Sixbey, is focused on direct engagement with clients this year. He has been reaching out for discussions with all current groups that have December 1 renewal dates. Coverage is still offered through Blue Cross Blue Shield, Independent Health, and Univera, with a variety of plans to help meet the needs of different clients and groups. MetLife and AFLAC are our prime carriers for a variety of ancillary and voluntary plans, along with some new options recently added. In all cases, the Chamber features a broad array of products and solutions to meet the needs of local businesses and their workers. All employee group decisions must be finalized by October 31 to meet the deadline for renewed coverage by December 1. If you don’t hear from us to set up an appointment, please call or email Kevin Sixbey at 484-1101 or 366-6200 or ksixbey@chautauquachamber.org. As a benefit of membership, the Chamber’s health insurance and employee benefits support is driven by our mission to provide our members with cost containment solutions for employers providing these as benefits to their employees.