On March 27, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that an independent high school’s Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status does not constitute “receiving Federal financial assistance,” for purposes of subjecting an...more
On February 5, the regional director for Region 1 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) ruled that the student-athletes on Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team are “employees” under the National Labor...more
2/12/2024
/ College Athletes ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
NCAA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Scholarships ,
Student Athletes ,
Wage and Hour
In a fractured decision, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated a former University of Arizona student’s Title IX lawsuit against the university. Vacating a divided three-judge panel’s...more
On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., No. 20-219 (Roberts, C.J.) that damages for emotional distress are not available for statutes adopted under the spending clause. Although...more
On March 31, the Third Circuit issued a ruling in Doe v. Princeton University, reversing a district court’s dismissal of Title IX and state law claims against Princeton University by a male student who was accused of...more
On January 25, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court order in Brown v. State of Arizona et al., granting the University of Arizona summary judgment to dismiss Title IX claims asserted against the...more
On January 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential decision in Hall v. Millersville University, holding for the first time that colleges and universities may face damages liability under...more
The National Labor Relations Board (Board) recently conducted an election in which student workers in the Office of Admission (Admissions) at Hamilton College (College) voted 25 to 20 to be represented by Local One of the...more
On December 11, 2020, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated a panel decision holding that plaintiff Rebecca Foster was entitled to a trial on her claim that the University of Michigan was...more
Why It Matters -
Businesses should begin to address these issues now so that when COVID-19 vaccines are ready for distribution, they will be too....more
12/16/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
In a precedential decision issued on May 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the lower court’s dismissal of a complaint filed against a private university alleging discrimination under Title IX and...more
6/2/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Cross Examination ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
Universities
After 17 months and more than 120,000 public comments, the Department has released its new regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The regulations represent a seismic shift in process and...more
5/20/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
New Regulations ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On May 6, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) made public its long-anticipated regulations under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in most education programs and...more
5/11/2020
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
Universities
In a precedential decision issued on April 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed dismissal of defamation and false light invasion of privacy claims brought against Newsweek by a politically active minor...more
5/6/2020
/ Absolute Privilege ,
Actual Malice ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defamation ,
Donald Trump ,
False Light ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Minor Children ,
Political Candidates ,
Printed Publications
Institutions of higher education (IHEs) are undertaking herculean measures to ensure students have the opportunity to continue their academic progress during this extraordinary time....more
On March 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision highlighting the difficult situation institutions of higher education face in sexual misconduct matters when balancing a complainant’s interest in...more
On December 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued its decision in Kollaritsch v. Michigan State University Board of Trustees, holding that, in order to be liable for deliberate indifference under Title...more
12/17/2019
/ Complaint Procedures ,
Educational Institutions ,
Evidence ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Rape ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX
On December 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued its decision in Kollaritsch v. Michigan State University Board of Trustees, holding that, in order to be liable for deliberate indifference under Title...more
12/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Colleges ,
Damages ,
Educational Institutions ,
Liability ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On October 19, Pa. Governor Tom Wolf signed into law the Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law, named for the Penn State student who lost his life in a fraternity hazing incident in early 2017....more
Many private colleges and universities have faculty handbooks and/or collective bargaining agreements that, among other things, establish internal disciplinary procedures and make promises to faculty about academic freedom....more
7/11/2018
/ Academic Misconduct ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Online Commentary ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Protected Activity ,
State and Local Government ,
Universities ,
WI Supreme Court ,
Work Suspensions
In the past year, allegations of sexual misconduct have regularly made headlines in top news outlets across the United States. The #MeToo movement has encouraged many individuals to make public the details of sometimes...more
7/9/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Actual Malice ,
Claims Made Policy ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Common Law Privilege ,
Defamation ,
Fair Report Privilege ,
First Amendment ,
Journalists ,
Media Relations ,
News Stories ,
Newspapers ,
Occurrence ,
Online Magazines ,
Public Figures ,
Public Officials ,
Republication ,
Reputational Injury ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held, in Petro-Lubricant Testing Laboratories, Inc. v. Adelman, that New Jersey’s one-year statute of limitations for defamation claims restarts if an online article’s author materially...more
A recent decision by Massachusetts’s highest court unanimously recognized that, under some circumstances, colleges and universities have a duty to protect students from suicide that, if violated, could result in tort...more
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit calls into question the viability of “junk fax” class actions brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when the defendant company does not...more
7/14/2017
/ Ascertainable Class ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
FRCP 23 ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Superiority Claims ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Unsolicited Faxes
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported that, on June 8, 2017, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) distributed an internal memo containing new guidance that will provide regional offices...more