On January 16, 2020, the Department of Education (the “Department”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) with the stated aim of implementing at colleges and universities certain Trump administration initiatives...more
On Monday, July 22, 2019, the Federal Student Aid Office of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that the Distance Education Rules that were originally scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2018, and were then...more
Esports -
Electronic sports (esports), also known as competitive video and computer gaming, continues to boom in popularity. Esports is a spectator-driven phenomenon: some reports estimate the global esports audience will...more
6/26/2019
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
eSports ,
Executive Orders ,
Free Speech ,
Hazing ,
NCAA ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
The United States Department of Education released its new proposed Title IX regulations addressing sexual harassment (including sexual assault) today. ...more
In recent months, challenges to schools’ programs and policies designed to foster diversity have become increasingly common. Anti-affirmative action advocates have stepped up their attacks on race- and gender-conscious...more
Following sweeping background check legislation passed in 2013 and 2014, background checks of faculty and staff have become the norm for Pennsylvania institutions of higher education. The commonwealth’s Child Protective...more
The Connecticut Supreme Court recently determined as a matter of law that independent schools have a duty of care to warn students against the risks of insect-borne illnesses when organizing study abroad trips. Failure to...more
Professor Deprived of Due Process Through
Salary Reduction -
Due process with respect to an employee’s property interest in employment is a vitally important consideration at public institutions, and, as a recent case...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed a district court decision holding that the federal trial court must abstain from judicial review of an ongoing disciplinary proceeding against a student at...more
In February 2017, a private threat intelligence firm alerted more than 60 organizations – institutions of higher education and governmental entities – that their internal databases had been breached by a Russian-speaking...more
While investigating sexual misconduct at the University of Montana’s campus, bestselling author Jon Krakauer filed a request with the office of the Commissioner of Higher Education of the State of Montana to inspect specific...more
In July 2016, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overruled its longstanding precedent Yusuf v. Vassar College, which held that students alleging gender discrimination arising from disciplinary proceedings were held to a...more
On August 1, 2016, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed the Madison Holleran Suicide Prevention Act, which requires institutions of higher education to ensure that mental health counselors are available to students 24 hours...more
Upcoming changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act salary-basis test may convert many of your smartphone-toting exempt employees into non-exempt employees, requiring you to track the evening and weekend time these employees...more
3/31/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Faculty ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Free Speech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Pensions ,
Professional Misconduct ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retirement ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
As higher education institutions struggle to implement the Department of Education’s ever-expanding rules governing sexual violence on campus, many student respondents involved in disciplinary proceedings are returning fire...more
Risk managers who also happen to be attorneys are not always protected by the attorney-client privilege, according to a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In Casey v. Unitek...more
In the wake of several high-profile cases of child abuse, Pennsylvania’s General Assembly has been on the vanguard of state legislatures’ efforts to reduce the risk of harm to children. Since 2013, Pennsylvania’s lawmakers...more
The Pennsylvania Legislature has passed – and Gov. Tom Wolf has signed – House Bill 1276 to amend the state’s Child Protective Services Law. The amended law contains a number of clarifying revisions to the mandated reporting...more
In a recent precedential opinion, the Third Circuit has held that the Higher Education Act provides no safe haven from strict adherence to the Fair Credit Reporting Act for colleges and universities. Moreover, the Court...more
A pilot program enacted by Congress went into effect last spring to protect whistleblowers who are working on federal grants. While it remains under the radar, this program is worth your review, as it not only imposes new...more
On October 16, 2013, the Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 31 which, if approved by the House of Representatives and signed by Governor Corbett, would substantially expand colleges’ and universities’ child...more