The Higher Ed Workplace Blog

Spring had sprung in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the CUPA-HR Spring Conference, where more than 400 higher ed HR pros had the opportunity to connect with and learn from some of the brightest HR leaders in higher education. From three dynamic keynotes to 29 interactive concurrent sessions, the conference provided a platform to engage in meaningful discussions, network with peers and gain valuable knowledge to help navigate the dynamic profession of higher ed HR.

On April 29, the Department of Labor issued a Field Assistance Bulletin on “Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems in the Workplace Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Federal Labor Standards.” The bulletin provides guidance on the applicability of the FLSA and other federal labor standards as they relate to employers’ increased use of artificial intelligence and automated systems in the workplace.

“Wherever we go, we are CUPA-HR.” That’s what CUPA-HR President Andy Brantley reminded members at the recent Spring Conference in Minneapolis. Though institutions differ in mission and scope and despite daily crises that threaten to divert attention from long-term goals, CUPA-HR members live their values every day. The keynote speakers struck a similar theme, encouraging attendees to align their internal values with work, tapping into courage, care and a sense of calling. Here are the key takeaways.

New research from CUPA-HR on the state of the faculty workforce in higher education shows that despite some growth in representation among tenure-track women and faculty of color in new hires, advancement to higher faculty ranks remains a barrier. What’s more, these promotion gaps are found in every faculty discipline. CUPA-HR’s research team analyzed data from the Faculty in Higher Education Survey, a comprehensive data source that collects salary and demographic data by tenure status, rank, and faculty discipline, to evaluate representation and pay equity for women and faculty of color from 2016-17 to 2022-23.

On April 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the highly anticipated final rule to alter the overtime pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule increases the minimum salary threshold to $43,888 on July 1, 2024, and then to $58,656 on January 1, 2025. The rule also implements automatic updates to the threshold that will occur every three years. Institutions will need to make all necessary adjustments by July 1, 2024, in order to be in compliance with the final rule.

On April 19, the Department of Education (ED) released the text of the highly anticipated Title IX final rule. The final rule expands protections against sex-based discrimination to cover sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy or related conditions. The rule also revokes both the Trump administration’s ban on campuses using a single person to investigate and adjudicate Title IX complaints and the Trump mandate regarding cross-examination of complainants. Institutions will need to be in compliance with the final rule by August 1, 2024.

On April 15, 2024, the EEOC issued its long-awaited final regulations and interpretative guidance on the implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires most employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for a pregnant worker, or for conditions related to pregnancy, such as lactation or morning sickness. The final rule is intended to offer “important clarity that will allow pregnant workers the ability to work and maintain a healthy pregnancy and help employers understand their duties under the law.” The regulations will be published in the Federal Register on April 19 and go into effect 60 days later.

In his recent webinar for CUPA-HR, Rahul Thadani, senior executive director of HR information systems at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, answered some of the most frequently raised questions about AI in HR. He also spoke to the most prevalent worries, including concerns about data privacy and whether AI will compete with humans for jobs. In addition to covering the basics on AI and how it works, Thadani addressed questions about the risks and rewards of using AI in HR, including: How can AI speed up productivity now? What AI tools should HR be using? How well is AI integrated into enterprise software? What are the risks and downsides of using AI? What role will AI play in the future of HR? Thadani also put to rest a common fear about AI: that it will replace human jobs. He believes that HR is too complex, too fundamentally human a role to be automated.

On April 10, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced it had concluded review of the Department of Education’s (ED) final rule to amend Title IX. OIRA review is the final step in the regulatory process, and we expect the ED will issue the final rule any day now. The ED released the text of the proposed rule on June 23, 2022, though the Federal Register did not officially publish the proposal until several weeks later on July 12, 2022. The agency received over 240,000 comments in response, including CUPA-HR comments seeking clarification on the overlaps between the ED’s proposal with institutions’ existing obligations to address employment discrimination. CUPA-HR also joined comments led by the American Council on Education.

On April 11, 2024, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced it had concluded review of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final overtime pay rule. The rule is expected to increase the minimum salary threshold for the executive, administrative and professional (EAP or white collar) employee exemptions to overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations. OIRA review is the final step in the regulatory process, and we expect DOL will release the final rule any day now. We will send another alert as soon as the final rule is released.