On July 11, 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in Johnson v. NCAA that certain college athletes may qualify as employees of their schools or the NCAA under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Being classified as employees could entitle college athletes to minimum wages and overtime pay, among other rights under the FLSA.… Continue Reading
Education
Podcast: Is DEI at Risk? Considerations on the US Supreme Court Ruling Against Affirmative Action Programs
In this podcast episode, we discuss the recent US Supreme Court ruling in the Students for Fair Admissions Inc.’s lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, which challenged the constitutionality of their race conscious admission policies. We’ll consider the potential implications across multiple settings, from university admissions policies, to workplace and other DEI programs.… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions: Implications for Corporate DEI Programs
The Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina (collectively SFFA), in a 6-3 majority opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, held that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) violate federal law.… Continue Reading
Proposed Title IX Amendments Protect LGBTQ+ Students
On June 23, 2022, the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the U.S. Department of Education released its proposed changes to Title IX regulations, which codify protections for LGBTQ+ students from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. The regulations aim to restore protections for students against all forms of sex-based harassment, ensure prompt and effective action, and eliminate the requirements of a live hearing and cross-examination.… Continue Reading
NLRB General Counsel Says Certain College Athletes are Protected by Federal Labor Law
In a statement that portends additional scrutiny of the “working conditions” of college and university athletes, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has publicly stated her view that scholarship athletes at academic institutions are employees who have the right to organize and to be protected from discrimination and retaliation when they act concertedly to improve their working conditions.… Continue Reading
Federal District Court Finds Public University Vaccine Mandate Likely Lawful
In a closely-watched case that may be a preview of other court decisions involving COVID-vaccination mandates for students returning to school and employees returning to the workplace, a federal district court has denied a request to enjoin Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccine policy for students. The policy includes a requirement that students provide documentation proving that they have been vaccinated – a so-called “vaccine passport.”… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court’s Transgender Bathroom Case Rebuff, What Direction Should School Districts Take?
As we previously reported here, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the Gloucester County, Virginia School Board in a transgender bathroom case. As a result, the underlying opinion from the Fourth Circuit, which aligns with guidance from the Department of Education under the Biden Administration, stays intact.… Continue Reading
U.S. Supreme Court Declines Cert in Fourth Circuit Transgender Student Case
Last week the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, a case involving transgendered students and schools’ discriminatory bathroom usage policies. In the case, plaintiff Gavin Grimm attempted to use the boys’ bathrooms but Gloucester High School in Virginia barred him from doing so because he was assigned female at birth.… Continue Reading
Title IX Roundup: DOJ Memo Protects LGBTQ+ Students, DOE Launches Reg. Review
The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education (DOE) made back-to-back announcements regarding the implementation and application of Title IX. On April 5, 2021, the DOJ released a three-page memorandum (the Memorandum) confirming that Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in educational settings, adopting the Supreme Court’s reasoning from the landmark Title VII case, Bostock v.… Continue Reading
NLRB Withdraws Proposed Rule Blocking Graduate Student Unionization
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have exempted graduate students from the definition of “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Under the rule proposed in 2019, discussed in more detail here, the NLRB would have declared the relationship of graduate students with their university to be educational in nature and would have effectively barred graduate students from unionizing under most circumstances.… Continue Reading