The Higher Ed Workplace Blog

District Court Invalidates NLRB’s Joint-Employer Rule

by CUPA-HR

On March 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas invalidated the National Labor Relations Board’s joint-employer final rule, meaning the rule will not go into effect as was anticipated. The NLRB will likely appeal the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The final rule expanded the joint-employer standard under the National Labor Relations Act, which is used to determine when two or more entities are jointly responsible for setting the terms and conditions of employment over a shared group of employees.

HR and the Courts — March 2024

by CUPA-HR

CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard’s overview this month covers recent labor union news: the unionization of Dartmouth College men’s basketball team, the potential F-1 visa implications that might occur if international student-athletes are considered employees, and the considerable rise in union membership and strike activity in 2023. A federal judge granted the NLRB’s motion to move SpaceX’s challenge from a Texas court to a California court. Employers that fire remote workers who are also in a protected class could give rise to challenges under civil rights statutes. An actor sues Disney after being terminated for political comments she made outside of work, and the NLRB reverses a previous decision, ruling that Home Depot violated the NLRA by not allowing an employee to wear a Black Lives Matter slogan on a work uniform.

CUPA-HR’s Equal Pay Day Data for Higher Education: Women in Higher Ed Are Paid Just 82 Cents on the Dollar, Most Women of Color Are Paid Even Less

by Julie Burrell

Since 1996, the National Committee on Pay Equity has acknowledged Equal Pay Day to bring awareness to the gap between men’s and women’s wages. This year, Equal Pay Day is March 12 — symbolizing how far into the year women must work to be paid what men were paid in the previous year. To help higher ed leaders understand, communicate and address gender pay equity in higher education, CUPA-HR has analyzed its annual workforce data to establish Higher Education Equal Pay Days for 2024. Tailored to the higher ed workforce, these dates observe the gender pay gap by marking how long into 2024 women in higher ed must work to make what White men earned the previous year.

Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Team Votes to Unionize

by CUPA-HR

On March 5, 2024, the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team voted 13-2 in favor of joining the Service Employees International Union. The election marks the first time in nearly a decade that student-athletes have been authorized to vote for union representation and may be the first case in which their election results in certified representation.

New Instructions Clarify USCIS Fee Rule Reductions and Exemptions for Higher Ed

by CUPA-HR

On March 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published updated forms and filing instructions for the I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and the I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. These updates incorporate new fee calculations as outlined in the USCIS fee rule. Notably, the filing instructions state that institutions “of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965” are eligible for the reduced fees and exemption from the Asylum Program fee. This clarification follows the issuance of a final rule by USCIS on January 31, 2024, which adjusted the fees for most immigration applications and petitions, resulting in significantly higher fees for most employment-based petitioners.

NLRB Higher Education Union Election Data for 2023

by CUPA-HR

During calendar year 2023, union organizing continued to rise at institutions of higher education. Data from the National Labor Relations Board on union organizing show that 31.2% of all private-sector workers who successfully unionized in 2023 were employed by institutions of higher education. To provide an update regarding collective bargaining at private colleges and universities across the country, CUPA-HR’s government relations team has compiled the following NLRB data from 2023 and early 2024 to summarize organizing activity.

Department of Labor Sends Overtime Rule to OIRA for Review

by CUPA-HR

On March 1, the Department of Labor sent the highly anticipated final rule to update Fair Labor Standards Act overtime regulations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review. This is a required step in the regulatory process and acts as one of the last steps prior to releasing the text of the regulation to the public. In most cases, reviews take 30 to 60 days, which means the final rule could be released as early as the end of March or in April.

At Hudson County Community College, Inclusion Drives Recruitment and Retention

by Julie Burrell

The motto at Hudson County Community College is “Hudson is Home,” a saying created by their students that reflects HCCC’s commitment to community across their three New Jersey campuses. Located in one of the densest and most ethnically diverse counties in the country, HCCC uses inclusive strategies to boost employee recruitment and retention.

Federal Judge Blocks NCAA Name, Image and Likeness Policy for Recruits Nationwide

by CUPA-HR

On February 23, a federal judge with the District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee issued a preliminary injunction barring the NCAA from enforcing its rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation for recruits. The injunction applies nationwide. The policy in question prohibited student-athletes from negotiating and signing NIL contracts prior to enrolling at a college or university. This meant NIL compensation could not be used to “induce” a recruit to a specific school. This policy stood in contrast to the NCAA’s policy for student-athletes already enrolled at a college or university, who, as of 2021, have been allowed to seek NIL compensation.

Federal Agencies Issue Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency for Federal Contractors

by CUPA-HR

On January 30, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and NASA issued a proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to create a salary history ban and require pay transparency during the hiring process for federal contractors and subcontractors. The proposed rule aligns with the Biden administration’s 2022 Executive Order , “Advancing Economy, Efficiency, and Effectiveness in Federal Contracting by Promoting Pay Equity and Transparency.”