The Higher Ed Workplace Blog

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard’s overview this month includes the NLRB’s formal complaint regarding student athletes, a Supreme Court ruling on union liability for intentional destruction of property, updated EEOC guidance on COVID-19 and ADA accommodations, the ruling in a defamation case brought by a former professor, the growing number of states restricting DEI initiatives in higher ed and requiring pay ranges in job postings, and the decision in a case brought by a transgender employee alleging sex discrimination.

On May 26, the Department of Education released a blog post stating that the release of the anticipated Title IX final rule will be delayed until at least October 2023. The final rule was previously targeted in the Fall 2022 Regulatory Agenda for May 2023. In the blog post, the department states that they need additional time to review the 240,000 comments they received in response to the Title IX proposed rule that was issued in July 2022.

On May 4, In the latest development on Julie Su’s contentious nomination for secretary of the Department of Labor, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) appears unlikely to vote in favor of Su when her nomination reaches a floor vote in the Senate. Recent news reported that Manchin may be seeking alternative candidates for the position, though no names have been publicly revealed at this time. Given the current 51-49 Democratic majority in the Senate, however, Manchin’s potential opposition means Democrats cannot afford to lose any additional support for the nomination.

Over the past year, lawmakers have taken an increased interest in establishing and expanding upon benefits and protections for paid leave and pregnant workers. As a result, Congress passed two bills granting workplace protections to pregnant and nursing mothers at the end of 2022, while  considering new federal proposals for paid family and medical leave. This post details some of the recent actions taken by lawmakers toward a federal paid-leave policy, as well as updates from federal agencies on the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act.

From developing supervisor competencies to transforming HR operations, human resources teams and HR practitioners across the country are doing great work every day. CUPA-HR’s regional Higher Education HR Awards program recognizes some of the best and brightest in higher ed HR and honors HR professionals who have given their time and talents to the association. Here are this year’s regional award recipients for the HR Excellence Award and the HR Rock Star Award, as well as CUPA-HR’s Chapter Excellence Awards.

On May 4, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it will provide employers with 30 days to reach compliance with Form I-9 requirements after the COVID-19 flexibilities sunset on July 31, 2023. Employers will now have until August 30, 2023, to complete all required physical inspections of identity and employment-eligibility documents. This extension aims to ease the transition for employers who have been using the temporary flexibilities throughout the pandemic.

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard’s overview this month includes a teacher’s religious accommodation request to be excused from the school district’s student pronoun rule, a ruling on the statute of limitations for discrimination cases filed under the federal Civil Rights Act of 1866, the NLRB’s expanded remedies for employers who egregiously violate their duty to bargain in good faith, dismissal of a religious discrimination claim by an employee who refused to follow COVID safety policies, and damages awarded to a professor claiming retaliation because her request for review of her tenure denial was denied.

On April 28, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will begin enforcing remedies for employer violations of an employee’s right to reasonable break time and space to pump breast milk under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These remedies were codified into law under the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act, which was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 — year-end legislation to fund the federal government.

As higher ed institutions face pressure to fill open positions and offer more flexible work opportunities, many are responding by recruiting and hiring employees who live and work in a state different from where their institution’s primary campus is located. CUPA-HR’s Multi-State Workforce Survey was developed to better understand institutions’ policies, practices and challenges related to out-of-state workers.

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard’s overview this month includes a case ruling that graduate student fellows with no teaching or research assistant responsibilities are not university employees and cannot unionize, a case involving healthcare workers’ refusal of a state-imposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and a warning issued from the NLRB that severance agreements with “overly broad” confidentiality/gag provisions relating to non-disparagement are illegal under recent NLRB case law.