On September 26, the Senate voted 53 to 44 to confirm Eugene Scalia to serve as the secretary of labor at the Department of Labor (DOL). Scalia’s confirmation comes one week after the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a full committee hearing on his nomination and just months after the resignation... View Article
One CUPA-HR member institution was recently the subject of a Department of Labor wage and hour investigation. While the university wishes to remain anonymous, its experience can serve as a learning opportunity for other institutions. “It seemed to come out of nowhere,” according to a member of the university’s HR department. “And the investigation got... 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: University Softball Coach Granted Federal Jury Trial on Some of Her Sex Discrimination Claims, Others Dismissed A female women’s softball coach at Alabama... View Article
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced on March 6 that it was preparing to unveil a new pilot program aimed at encouraging employers to voluntarily report and resolve “inadvertent” violations of minimum-wage and overtime laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new program — known as Payroll Audit Independent... View Article
On June 26, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it will reinstate the issuance of opinion letters to employers and employees regarding application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other statutes. As stated in DOL’s release, “an opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Wage and Hour Division of how a... View Article
Members OnlyOn April 27, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alexander Acosta as the 27th labor secretary. Acosta, who most recently served as dean of Florida International University College of Law, previously held positions in the federal government as a U.S. attorney, head of the Department of Justice’s civil rights division and, for a short time, as a... View Article
On February 25, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) where the Acting Secretary of Education, John B. King Jr., answered committee members’ questions about the Department of Education’s role implementing the law. During the hearing, Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) asked for the Secretary’s... View Article