The Higher Ed Workplace Blog

On October 26, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Request for Public Input (RPI) “seeking comments from employers, employer organizations, employee groups, and other members of the public on document examination practices for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.” The RPI is the agency’s next step in determining whether the remote document examination flexibilities that have been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic should be continued on a permanent basis.

On October 22, 2021, the House of Representatives passed H.R.3110, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act. The bill passed by a bipartisan vote of 276 -149 and was supported by business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and advocacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union.

On October 12, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent their COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard Rulemaking (ETS) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA is the White House office responsible for reviewing regulations and proposed regulations before they are publicly released. 

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard highlights recent rulings around student-athletes and whether they are considered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), whether Black Lives Matter demonstrations and demonstrations opposing crackdowns on undocumented workers are protected concerted activity under the NLRA, and legislation aimed at softening federal workplace vaccine mandates.

Thank you to all who attended the CUPA-HR Annual Conference and Expo in person and virtually this week! It was wonderful to welcome new and familiar faces, celebrate CUPA-HR’s 75th anniversary, and explore outstanding sessions with so many of you. For those who weren’t able to attend, here are three conference takeaways you can put to use wherever you are.

On September 29, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo released a memorandum stating her position that student athletes (or “Players at Academic Institutions,” as she refers to them in the memo) are employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and are afforded all statutory protections as prescribed under the law.

On September 7, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2021-53, which includes guidance to employers on reporting the amount of qualified sick and family leave wages paid to employees for leave taken in 2021 as provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard highlights recent rulings around the EEOC’s first COVID-19 teleworking denial lawsuit under the ADA, a community college employee seeking relief from denial of disability benefits under state law, an ageism lawsuit, and more.

On September 9, President Biden released his COVID-19 Action Plan, which includes a six-pronged plan to combat COVID-19 through increased vaccinations, testing and other strategies. The Biden Administration is using different agencies to implement and enforce the different requirements. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will require employers with 100 or more employees to test nonvaccinated employees on a weekly basis through an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). While OSHA has yet to release many specifics about the timing and the content of the ETS, the agency did release some information late last week.

On September 9, President Biden released a new COVID-19 mitigation plan, which includes several new requirements and recommendations for employers, employees, schools and others across the country. The six-part plan includes new policies and strategies to vaccinate more unvaccinated individuals, administer booster shots, keep schools safely open, increase testing facilities and products, protect economic recovery, and improve treatments for COVID-19.