Each month, CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides an overview of several labor and employment law cases and regulatory actions with implications for the higher ed workplace. Here’s the latest from Ira. Federal Appeals Court Panel Expresses Skepticism Regarding New York City Teachers’ Challenge to the Constitutionality of the New York City Vaccine Mandate for... View Article
On March 12, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced it would be withdrawing its 2019 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (proposed rule) addressing the extent to which students who perform services for private higher education institutions are considered employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The official Notice of Withdrawal will be published in the... View Article
On May 6, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released an interim final rule (IFR) to supplement previously issued IFRs implementing the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The new IFR provides guidance tailored for institutions of higher education, such as additional eligibility requirements with respect to student workers and nondiscrimination obligations. The CARES Act,... View Article
As the COVID-19 public health emergency continues, policymakers are providing new financial assistance to workers impacted by the outbreak. One form of assistance is additional unemployment compensation for both previously eligible individuals and new classes of workers. Questions remain, however, about which workers qualify to receive such benefits, including whether students who perform work for... View Article
On January 15, 2020, CUPA-HR, the American Council on Education (ACE), and other higher ed associations, filed comments in response to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on student workers. The proposed rule essentially states that student workers at private institutions are not considered employees under the National Labor Relations Act... View Article
This blog post was contributed by Michiko Clark and Lynn Clements of Berkshire Associates. In a recent series of FAQs, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) explains whether academic institutions should include student workers in their affirmative action plans (AAPs) and provides guidance regarding who is considered a student worker. In the FAQs,... View Article
Members OnlyWhile individuals pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree are employed throughout the American workforce in a wide array of capacities, our emphasis in this toolkit is on such individuals in the employ of an institution of higher education, ancillary to their pursuit of a degree at that school. There are obviously cases in which individuals... 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
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
On February 17, CUPA-HR and the American Council on Education, along with other higher ed associations, met with the U.S. Department of Treasury to discuss the ongoing issues surrounding the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate as it relates to student workers in colleges and universities. February’s meeting was a follow-up to a January 2015 conversation... View Article