Higher Education Law Report

Spring break invites faculty travel to conferences abroad, student study trips abroad and student dispersal to their home locations. What should a higher education institution do to prepare for this period of increased travel?

Read More >> CORONAVIRUS COVID-19: SPRING BREAK EDITION

On January 16, 2020, in a move that highlights two First Amendment issues, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed revisions to current regulations to (1) encourage institutions of higher education to foster environments that promote open and diverse debate and (2) avoid discrimination against faith-based entities in the awarding and administration of Department research and education grants. 

Read More >> Freedom of Expression and Federal Grants – New Proposed Rule

On December 19, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) held that employers can require employees to keep internal investigations confidential during the pendency of the investigations. This decision, Apogee Retail d/b/a Unique Thrift Store, overturns a 2015 decision banning employer rules requiring confidentiality in internal investigations, and has significant repercussions for higher education institutions that engage in such investigations.  

Read More >> New Ruling Allows Employers to Mandate Confidentiality of Internal Investigations

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) latest compliance activity involves site visits of those employers who employ F-1 nonimmigrant students under STEM Optional Practical Training (“STEM OPT”) work authorization.  With STEM OPT, F-1 students who have earned STEM (e.g., science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education can apply for and obtain an additional 24 months of OPT work authorization in addition to the 1 year of post-graduation OPT granted to all eligible F-1 students.  

Read More >> STEM OPT Site Visits – Why ICE Is Knocking On Your Door Now - Higher Education Law Report

In what is likely only the first step in a trek to the U.S. Supreme Court, on September 30, 2019, Harvard College defeated a challenge to its admissions policy brought in the federal District Court in Massachusetts on behalf of Asian-American applicants.  In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Civil Action No. 14-cv-14176-ADB, U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs found that Harvard’s admissions policies did not violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act or the strict scrutiny standard of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  We will summarize the lengthy court decision in this comparatively short piece.  The decision itself outlines extensive factual findings based on written submissions and the testimony from eighteen current and former Harvard employees, four expert witnesses, and eight current or former Harvard college students. 

Read More >> Race-Conscious Admissions and the Race to the Supreme Court - Higher Education Law Report

On September 23, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that addresses the long-standing issue of whether undergraduate and graduate students who perform services for compensation (including teaching or research) at private colleges and universities can form a union under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  Under the proposed rule, student workers would not be able to organize based on the Board’s position that such individuals do not meet the definition of “employee” under Section 2(3) of the NLRA because their relationships with their colleges and universities are predominantly educational, not economic.

Read More >> Proposed Rule Would Preclude Undergraduate and Graduate Students from Union Organizing - Higher Education Law Report

On August 12, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed legislation making sweeping changes to the New York Human Rights Law (“NYHRL”). Although we previously posted summaries of the significant amendments to the Human Rights Law and their potential impact on employers, we take this opportunity to explain how those amendments pose challenges for New York colleges and universities. 

Read More >> New York Legislation Redefines Harassment Standard - Higher Education Law Report

Today, President Trump will sign a new Executive Order (EO): Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities. The EO focuses on two areas: free speech and consumer awareness.

Read More >> New Executive Order Regarding Free Speech and Consumer Awareness

On November 16, 2018, more than a year after rescinding Obama administration era Title IX subregulatory guidance on colleges’ and universities’ obligations under Title IX, the United States Department of Education published its long-awaited proposed Title IX regulations. The proposed regulations will likely be viewed by institutions as a mixed bag. On the one hand, the regulations promise a narrower scope of enforcement and greater deference to institutional decisions. On the other hand, notwithstanding Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s assertions that the prior administration had inappropriately imposed highly technical and overly-stringent compliance obligations on colleges and universities, the proposed regulations would legislate significantly in this area, mandating detailed new processes, many of which are arguably beyond the Department’s discretion to require and some of which may create conflicts with the requirements of state laws such as New York Education Law Article 129-B. The following are some of the most noteworthy provisions.

Read More >> Proposed Title IX Regulations Would Necessitate Extensive Changes to Institutional Policies and Practices

Irrespective of one’s political point of view, the Kavanagh confirmation hearings captured the Nation’s attention and created watercooler debates, heated at times, as to respective views of the truth in a case involving sexual assault.  And while the public may becoming adept at sideline adjudications of wildly divergent versions of events, Colleges have long been on the front line. 

Read More >> New York High Court Renders Important Decision Deferring to Institutional Determination in Sexual Misconduct Proceeding

On August 8, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors adopted Proposals 2018-16_and_2018-17.  These proposals, which arose out of the work of the Commission on College Basketball (and associated working groups), will necessitate new content in employment agreements with certain institutional personnel executed, extended or renewed on or after August 8, 2018.

Read More >> New NCAA Legislation Necessitates Changes to Institutional Employment Agreements

A class action lawsuit against New York University, which alleged that the fiduciaries of its two retirement plans breached their ERISA duties by failing to diligently monitor the plans’ investment funds and allowing the plans to pay excessive fees, was recently dismissed.¹ After an eight-day bench trial, U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest ruled that, despite some “troubling” deficiencies in the manner in which the fiduciaries discharged their duties, the plaintiffs failed to prove any fiduciary breach.

Read More >> The Recent NYU ERISA Decision and Best Practices for ERISA Fiduciaries