On July 16 and 17, the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Women’s Bureau and Wage and Hour Division (WHD) each issued a request for information (RFI) seeking input from interested stakeholders on questions related to job-protected leave in the United States. The Women’s Bureau RFI focused on questions relating to paid leave state and employer policies,... View Article
Over the past two months there have been several important actions on immigration policy. Below we provide brief summaries of the activity. USCIS Resumes Premium Processing in Phases for Forms I-129 and I-140 On May 29, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will resume premium processing in phases for Forms I-129 and eligible... View Article
On June 1, CUPA-HR joined the American Council on Education (ACE) and other higher education associations in sending a letter to Senate leaders requesting additional unemployment insurance (UI) relief for self-insured colleges and universities. The letter raises concerns with Department of Labor (DOL) guidance requiring self-insured nonprofits to pay money to state UI agencies before... View Article
The Department of Labor (DOL), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued guidance materials for employers and employees to help them better understand how financial assistance resources created in response to the coronavirus public health emergency will be impacted by employee rejection of reemployment opportunities offered by the employer.... View Article
On April 28, the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued deadline extensions and other guidance under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The two notices and an FAQ document provide guidance to help benefits plan participants, sponsors and fiduciaries impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The... View Article
Key Issues CUPA-HR > DOL DOL and IRS Issue April 1 Guidance on FFCRA Leave April 1, 2020 (WASHINGTON INSIDER ALERT) - On April 1, the Department of Labor (DOL), the Treasury Department, and the IRS issued additional guidance on the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act,... View Article
As COVID-19 inflicts unprecedented disruption across every sector of the economy, the unemployment insurance (UI) system is undergoing extraordinary strain. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported that 3.3 million people filed for unemployment insurance during the week that ended on March 21 — the biggest spike in unemployment filings in U.S. history. Analysts predict... View Article
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