Religious Use Law in South Florida
Welcome to our fourth edition of The Academic Advisor - our e-newsletter focused on education law insights. As schools settle into the pace of fall semester/terms, we understand that you may experiencing a variety of familiar...more
While the great majority of schools will not be requiring their students or staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 this coming school year, that’s not necessarily true for schools in the Northeast and on the West Coast....more
Whether your school is aiming to be more diverse and inclusive or wanting to be in the best possible position to enforce religious tenets, it is important to consult with experienced independent or private school legal...more
On June 10, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) renounced jurisdiction over faculty employees at most religious educational institutions. The Bethany College case overruled the NLRB’s 2014 Pacific Lutheran...more
Overruling a controversial 2014 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision, the NLRB has adopted a new test for determining whether it will exercise jurisdiction over religious institutions. Bethany College, 369 NLRB No....more
In a major reversal of a 2014 Obama-era precedent, the National Labor Relations Board just ruled that it will no longer assert jurisdiction over bona fide religiously affiliated schools. This decision is of enormous...more
We have seen this movie before. NLRB precedent established by the Board under the prior Administration conflicted sharply with decisions by the D.C. Circuit reviewing the Board. Then the current iteration of the Board...more
Overruling a prior decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has determined that it cannot exercise jurisdiction over the faculty of Bethany College, a college associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of...more
On November 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) published in the Federal Register final regulations (the “Final Rule”) governing the recognition of accrediting agencies for postsecondary education and...more
On June 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) to revise its regulations governing the recognition of accrediting agencies for postsecondary...more
Colleges and universities should take note of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in University of Southern California v. National Labor Relations Board, Case No. 17-1149 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 12, 2019)...more
Courts continue to grapple with the scope and meaning of the ministerial exception doctrine. In Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch. v. EEOC, 565 U.S. 171 (2012), the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that a...more
In an April 6, 2017, decision, Saint Xavier University, 365 NLRB No. 64 (2017), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that it was appropriate to exercise jurisdiction over a petitioned-for unit of housekeeping...more
In its 2014 landmark decision in Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that it will assert jurisdiction over faculty at religious colleges and universities unless the college or...more
Now that debates have faded over the definition of student performance and whether guns in schools are necessary to protect against grizzly bears, everyone is settling into the reality that Betsy DeVos now leads our nation’s...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a last minute attempt to leave his mark on the NLRB, the Board’s outgoing General Counsel issued a report attempting to expand the rights of university faculty and students, including scholarship...more
In the midst of a heated presidential election cycle, employers are following recent decisions of the National Labor Relations Board closely. Before losing its three-member Democratic majority at the expiration of Board...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The National Labor Relations Board issued three important decisions this week that will significantly impact private colleges and universities....more
In our June 2015 blog post, “NLRB Moves to Assert Jurisdiction Over Religious Educational Institutions,” we reported that Regional Directors of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were beginning to exercise jurisdiction...more
In a decision notable for not just one, but two revisions to established National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) analytical framework, the Board appears to open the door toward increased unionization of private...more
In still another break with long-standing precedent, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has once again eased the way for union organizing – this time for unions seeking to organize faculty at private sector...more
In Pacific Lutheran University, 361 NLRB No. 157, a case that had been watched closely by the higher education community, the National Labor Relations Board issued a 3-2 decision the week before Christmas announcing new...more
The National Labor Relations Board issued a 3-2 decision last month in Pacific Lutheran University, 361 NLRB No. 157, in which it significantly modified the standards for determining: (1) whether college or university faculty...more
The National Labor Relations Board (Board) recently ruled that it would assert jurisdiction over Pacific Lutheran University's (PLU’s) full-time contingent faculty members. In the context of a union's attempt to organize...more
In the latest example of dramatic changes to well-developed principles of federal labor law and policy, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) issued its long awaited decision in Pacific Lutheran University,...more