The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires recipient institutions—i.e., any entity receiving funding from the NIH—to have policies that foster a harassment-free environment.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently issued new guidance regarding name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsement deals with college athletes. The NCAA’s most recent guidance aims to provide clarity on NIL rules and is important for all businesses entering NIL deals with collegiate athletes, as well as colleges and universities subject to NCAA rules.   

The NCAA’s Past Guidance

Alyesha Dotson says the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on whether to overrule a 2003 decision that upheld affirmative action in student admissions won’t set new precedent for employers, but may have repercussions in how diversity, equity and inclusion programming is conducted moving forward.

Law360 Employment Authority

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced that it is clarifying the validity period of off-campus employment authorization for international students pursuant to the Special Student Relief (SSR) package.

In a joint “Dear Colleague” letter (DCL) released May 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights teamed up with the U.S.

Maryland has enacted a law allowing student-athletes to earn compensation from name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsement deals. The law, Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 15-131, went into effect on July 1, 2023, and is part of a continuing trend of states implementing legislation allowing student-athletes to monetize endorsements.

On February 5, 2024, the NLRB’s Regional Director for Region 1, Laura Sacks, issued a written decision finding that Dartmouth’s men’s basketball players are employees under the National Labor Relations Act. Based on their status as employees, Regional Director Sacks found, Dartmouth’s men’s basketball players are eligible to vote in a union election petitioned for by Local 560 of the Service Employees International Union, a labor union that already represents several other more traditional employee groups at Dartmouth.

While testifying at a congressional hearing, Tyler A. Sims said the potential consequences of unionizing could be damaging for athletes.

Inside Higher Ed

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Tyler Sims discusses the potential wage-and-hour implications of Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team voting to form what may become the NCAA’s first-ever athlete labor union.

HR Dive

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On August 9, 2024, the NLRB denied Pardee RAND Graduate School’s (“RAND”) request for review of a regional director’s Decision and Direction of Election (DDE) finding that a petitioned-for unit of graduate policy researchers was an appropriate bargaining unit. The Board found that RAND’s request raised no substantial issue warranting review.

UPDATE: On March 21, 2024, Ontario’s Bill 149 - Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 received Royal Assent. The amendments to the ESA made by Bill 149 came into force on the day it received Royal Assent, with the following exceptions:

Rhonda B. Levy and Monty Verlint explain Ontario's Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023.

SHRM Online

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The federal government, states, counties, and cities were active again this year passing workplace legislation intended for the most part to protect employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers. Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) has been tracking these laws as they worked their way through the legislative and regulatory processes required for these changes to go into effect. Below is our annual summary of new laws and regulations employers will have to take into account in the first quarter of 2024.

On November 24, 2022, Bill 41 – 2022: Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2022 (Bill 41), which introduced changes to British Columbia’s Workers Compensation Act, received Royal Assent. Effective January 1, 2024, Bill 41 imposes certain duties on employers and employees following a workplace injury.

Janell Ahnert discusses OSHA’s expanded electronic recordkeeping rule and how it may change OSHA inspections going forward.

Birmingham Business Journal

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In a significant decision about workplace drug use, the Connecticut Appellate Court backed an employer’s right to terminate a worker who was impaired on the job by medical marijuana. The decision also clarified the factual basis an employer must possess to justify ordering a drug test based on suspicion of impairment.

Update: On June 20, 2024, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board unanimously approved an amended version of the proposed indoor heat illness prevention regulation which specifically excluded the government entities (mainly correctional facilities) whose inclusion had led to the earlier rejection by the Director Finance. The Board also requested that the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) expedite their review and allow the regulation to become effective immediately upon OAL approval.

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On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its final rule clarifying that employees may designate a non-employee third party as their representative during an OSHA inspection.

James McGehee and Bradford Kelley provide insight into the potential impact of AI on the construction industry. 

For Construction Pros

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Felicia Watson discusses three concerns about a proposed OSHA rule that would protect indoor and outdoor workers from heat illness.

SHRM

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In R. v. Greater Sudbury (City), 2024 ONSC 3959, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (OSCJ) dismissed an appeal of the trial judge’s decision in which she acquitted the City of Sudbury (City) of various charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).

Grant Goerke and Jennifer Chierek Znosko discuss a recent federal court decision that agreed an Illinois employer had the right to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on marijuana use.

Westlaw Today

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Maryland’s Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) Division of Labor and Industry recently announced its publication of the Heat Illness Prevention Standard as a final regulation in the September 20, 2024, edition of the Maryland Register. Effective September 30, 2024, the final regulation—which creates obligations for Maryland employers to protect their employees against heat hazards—will be published in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) under chapter 09.12.32 Heat Stress Standards.

On October 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor released expanded guidance for OSHA inspections of employers in the animal slaughtering and processing industry. This guidance supersedes previous guidance issued in 2015, which had been limited to poultry processing establishments.

The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) has announced a delay in beginning a comprehensive employment tax audit program originally scheduled for November 2009 but now scheduled to begin February 2010. In February, the IRS will launch its latest National Research Program (NRP). This NRP will be focused on conducting detailed employment taxes examinations. Approximately 6,000 employers are to be randomly selected for audit. In addition to potential "assessments," these audits will provide the IRS with the statistical sample of overall employment taxes compliance.

Connecticut and Rhode Island construction industry employers are facing a significant increase in government scrutiny of their labor and employment practices over the next several years. On November 30, 2011, the Hartford office of the U.S Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ("U.S. DOL") issued a press release announcing a "multiyear enforcement initiative" aimed at improving what it sees as "widespread noncompliance with minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act" in the construction industry in both Connecticut and Rhode Island.

On October 1, 2013, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (DOL) published a final rule in the Federal Register eliminating the Fair Labor Standard Act's (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime exemption for home care workers employed by home care agencies and other companies.  The new regulations also significantly narrow the exemption for home care workers employed directly by the individuals or families receiving home care services. 

Connecticut has passed a new law regulating electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products in various venues, including numerous places of employment.  Effective October 1, 2015, Public Act No. 15 206 (the Act) supersedes and preempts any relevant provisions of municipal laws or ordinances regarding the use of these products. 

The Law

The Act prohibits the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products in:

1. buildings owned or leased and operated by the state or its political subdivisions,

On page 54, Eric Stevens urges bank executives to begin preparing now for changes to employee data reporting in 2018 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  

The Tennessee Banker

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Mark Phillis discusses the practice of looking to HR professionals to testify in court and conduct workplace investigations.

Bloomberg BNA Human Resources Report

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