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... View Article
Over the last year and a half, the rapid implementation and general success of remote work has brought about both new opportunities and new challenges. In particular, the challenges of navigating multi-state compliance issues can be tricky. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, here are three key points to get you started on the right... View Article
On August 9, CUPA-HR and 12 other higher education associations sent a letter to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur M. Jaddou requesting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extend and amend its previously announced flexibilities on Form I-9 compliance requirements. The guidance, which has been extended continuously since March 2020 and... View Article
Have leaders at your institution embraced flexible work, viewing it is a way to boost employee engagement, productivity, retention and recruitment efforts? Or are they skeptical that flexible work arrangements can work for the long-term? In a recent CUPA-HR webinar, “Leading Into the Future of Flexible Work,” a panel of higher ed HR professionals discussed... View Article
Over the course of the pandemic, higher ed employers may have struggled with how to approach employees whose work performance has been negatively impacted by issues in their personal lives. A recent CUPA-HR webinar, “Trauma-Informed Leadership for Higher Education,” shared ways employers can open the door for disclosure and develop a leadership style that is... View Article
This post was contributed by Bryan Garey, vice president and chief human resources officer at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. A transformation of the workplace is taking place right before our eyes. From pandemic-driven urgency, workplaces are succeeding in meeting both customer expectations and employee needs through creative approaches that have redefined where, when and... View Article
If 2020 has given us anything — aside from a new appreciation for the word “pivot” — it’s proof that higher ed is just as capable of adaptation as the corporate world. Before these unprecedented times, big names like Google, Facebook and Netflix were more often at the forefront of workforce innovation conversations than were... View Article
This blog post was contributed by Stephanie Hoffmann, assistant director of community standards and responsibility at Rollins College. Ensuring that student affairs professionals feel engaged with their institution, know what resources are available on and off campus and know how they can utilize their strengths can help them perform better in their roles and positively... View Article
The clean slate of each new year ushers in a wave of resolutions for those who want to improve an area of their professional or personal lives. One common resolution is to give back, which often takes the form of monetary contributions. However, another way to meet this resolution on a professional level is to... View Article
Each month, CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides an overview of some labor and employment law cases and regulatory actions with implications for the higher ed workplace. Here’s the latest from Ira: New Supreme Court Decision Will Make It More Difficult for Employers to Dismiss Title VII Court Cases Where Plaintiff Does Not File a... View Article
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) indicated in the federal government’s May 22 spring regulatory agenda that it plans to issue a proposed rule by September addressing the extent to which students who perform services for private higher education institutions are considered employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Under the NLRA, employees working in the private... View Article
Each month, CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides an overview of some labor and employment law cases and regulatory actions with implications for the higher ed workplace. Here’s the latest from Ira: States Consider Sexual Harassment Remedies and Prevention Reforms to Supplement Title VII With the advent of the “me too” movement, many state legislatures... View Article
We know the faculty model in higher ed is changing, with adjuncts (part-time faculty) making up more and more of the faculty workforce in institutions across the country. But what does the big picture look like in terms of adjunct numbers, bargaining power and pay? Data from last year’s CUPA-HR faculty salary surveys tell the... View Article
Following the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s August 23 decision in Columbia University, which held that student workers at private institutions are employees entitled to collective bargaining and other rights and protections under the National Labor Relations Act, colleges and universities have seen a rapid increase in union organizing efforts employing disparate approaches and increased... View Article
On September 30, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations implementing Executive Order 13706 (EO) requiring federal contractors and subcontractors working on or in connection with covered contracts to offer their employees up to seven days of paid sick leave per year. Although DOL has made some minor revisions to the proposed rule, the... View Article
In an effort to better prepare students to enter the working world on solid footing, colleges and universities are placing greater emphasis on experiential learning — and at many institutions, student employment is a means to this end. But in order for students to gain skills and knowledge that are transferable to the world of... View Article