The Higher Ed Workplace Blog

On February 17, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) outlining plans to impose new HR-related conditions on USDA contracts. If finalized, the rule would require federal contractors on projects procured by the USDA to certify their compliance with dozens of federal and state labor laws and executive orders. The proposal mirrors similar “blacklisting” regulations pursued by USDA during the Obama administration.

On January 24, the Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, a case dealing with 403(b) retirement plan fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The court criticized the standard applied by the lower courts and sent the case back to the 7th Circuit to reevaluate the plaintiffs’ allegations.

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides details on unfair labor practices charges against the NCAA and multiple public and private universities asserting that basketball and football players are employers under the NLRA, a First Amendment free speech case involving three paraprofessionals prohibited by their university from wearing Black Lives Matter and other anti-racism messaging, a former professor’s ADA and Rehab Act discrimination case for being denied a reasonable accommodation to continue teaching remotely, and more.

National Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions and achievements women have made throughout U.S. history. CUPA-HR is fortunate to have had many smart and dedicated women serve on its national, regional and chapter boards and on various committees. In addition to providing leadership at work, they have volunteered their time and shared their know-how — lighting the way for other women in the field. To celebrate the month, we’re spotlighting some of the many leaders who have transformed higher ed HR and CUPA-HR. Sure to inspire, these articles and podcast episodes offer unique perspectives of higher ed HR, career journeys, struggles, successes and everything in between.

While there is an abundance of research on students who attend minority-serving institutions (MSIs), little research has examined the MSI workforce. The latest CUPA-HR report targets this gap by providing an overview of MSI representation among all U.S. higher ed institutions and showing their geographic spread across the country; providing a closer examination of racial/ethnic and gender composition of faculty, administrators, professionals and non-exempt staff; and assessing how well the racial/ethnic composition of the higher ed workforce at MSIs reflects their student populations and matches the minority-serving mission of the institutions.

On February 8, the National College Players Association, an advocacy association for college athletes, filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Pac-12 Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The charges mark the launch of the NCPA’s #JforJustice campaign and aim “to affirm college athlete employee status for every [Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)] football player and Division I basketball player at every public and private university in the nation,” per an NCPA statement.

For institutions to become diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces for faculty and staff, HR must take a critical look at current hiring processes and analyze not only who’s being hired, but who’s doing the hiring. Are search committee members trained in DEI issues and prepared to conduct interviews in a way that exemplifies the institution’s commitment to DEI? As we wrap up the first two weeks of the 21-Day Equity Habit Building Challenge: Less Talk, More Action, we’re calling attention to inspiring higher ed hiring initiatives and resources from two institutions.

Meditation is an umbrella term for achieving an intense level of focus. Humans have been meditating in various ways for thousands of years, and research suggests there’s good reason why. Meditation can increase concentration, reduce stress, reduce anxiety and depression, improve physical health and help us become more resilient in our personal and professional lives. If you’d like to dip your toe into meditation, try one of these free resources.

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides details around the U.S. Supreme Court review of two institutions’ affirmative action admission policies, a case featuring a former teaching assistant alleging a biased Title IX investigation against his institution, details around the NLRB general counsel’s call to issue “make-whole” remedies, which would include emotional distress damages for employee unfair labor practice violations, and more.

On February 8, CUPA-HR and 14 higher education organizations sent a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD)’s Acting Administrator Jessica Looman requesting that the agency engage in stakeholder meetings with the higher education community during the initial stages of the rulemaking process for the anticipated overtime rule.