Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming recently passed laws aligning with recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump defining sex as binary and immutable....more
On February 12, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration rescinded recent guidance that name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments to college athletes implicate the gender equal opportunity...more
On February 6, 2025, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced its new policy, prohibiting athletes assigned male at birth from participating in women’s sports competitions, aligning the NCAA eligibility...more
Valentine’s Day is around the corner, so the time is right to consider the legal pitfalls of office romances.
While love can be a “many splendored thing,” workplace romances may sometimes lead to harassment lawsuits,...more
At least forty-four states have enacted laws prohibiting hazing. However, the regulations, penalties, and requirements vary significantly by state. The enactment of the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) exemplifies the...more
The U.S. Department of Education warned National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools that payments to athletes for the use of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) implicate the gender equal opportunity...more
1/17/2025
/ College Athletes ,
Department of Education ,
Gender Equity ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
New Guidance ,
OCR ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sports ,
Student Athletes ,
Title IX
On January 9, 2025, in State of Tennessee v. Cardona, Civil Action No. 2:24-cv-072-DCR, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky vacated the Title IX Final Rule that was issued by the U.S. Department of...more
This is part four of a series examining the most topical changes applicable to higher education contained in the new Title IX regulations released by the U.S. Department of Education on April 19, 2024. Changes applicable only...more
5/8/2024
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Family Status Discrimination ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Marital Status ,
Marital Status Discrimination ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
This is part one of a series examining the most topical changes contained in the new Title IX regulations applicable to higher education released by the U.S. Department of Education on April 19, 2024. Changes applicable only...more
4/26/2024
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employees ,
Filing Grievances ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Grievance Process ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title IX Coordinator ,
Universities
A recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that the men’s college basketball players at Dartmouth College were employees of the school, as well as other legal challenges to establish the employment status of...more
On March 5, 2024, players on the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team voted to unionize, making the group the first college sports team to do so in the United States. Dartmouth College has already filed an appeal with the...more
3/6/2024
/ Athletes ,
Basketball ,
Collective Bargaining ,
College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Compensation ,
Employee Definition ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Sports ,
Unions ,
Universities
On February 5, 2024, a regional director for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Boston ruled that men’s college basketball players at Dartmouth College are “employees” within the meaning of the National Labor...more
2/8/2024
/ Basketball ,
Collective Bargaining ,
College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Employee Definition ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
SEIU ,
Student Athletes ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Universities
University athletic administrators all across the country are welcoming back their athletes for the 2023–2024 athletic season. Athletes and coaches alike will meet with compliance administrators for a refresher on National...more
8/29/2023
/ College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Compliance ,
Hazing ,
NCAA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Training Requirements ,
Universities
A basketball player from the Dominican Republic could be the first prospective National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athlete to secure an O-1 temporary work visa for those with “extraordinary ability” in athletics...more
11/29/2022
/ College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Foreign Students ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
O-1 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability ,
Sponsorship Agreements ,
Students ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
Universities ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Work Visas
A professional sports team head coach recently found himself in hot water over a romantic relationship with another employee of the franchise. The team’s management suspended him for an entire season for purported...more
On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in Roberts v. Gestamp West Virginia, LLC, that an employer’s “usual and customary” notice procedures relating to absences extended beyond the company’s...more
9/21/2022
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Interference Claims ,
Leave of Absence ,
Notice Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Social Networks ,
Termination ,
Wrongful Termination
On August 26, 2022, Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania dismissed a putative class action representing approximately 100 healthcare...more
9/2/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
It has been nearly one full year since the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) expanded its campus sexual violence policy, placing additional obligations on member institutions. While many stakeholders were hoping...more
On April 20, 2021, Alabama governor Kay Ivey signed into law a name, image, and likeness (NIL) bill, making Alabama the tenth state to enact such legislation.
...more