Tag: paid

  • CUPA-HR Submits Letter in Response to Paid Leave RFI – CUPA-HR

    CUPA-HR Submits Letter in Response to Paid Leave RFI – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | January 31, 2024

    On January 31, CUPA-HR submitted a letter in response to the Bipartisan, Bicameral Congressional Paid Leave Working Group’s Request for Information on federal paid leave policy. The letter responds to some of the 10 questions posed by the Working Group to inform them of the role the federal government can play in creating a national paid leave policy.

    CUPA-HR’s letter answers questions on the role of the federal government in incentivizing paid leave, the recommended framework for a federal policy, how to avoid unintended distortions resulting from a paid leave framework, and existing research on the impact of paid leave on job satisfaction and recruitment and retention efforts. In our response, CUPA-HR takes the position that the role of the federal government is to ensure that any federal law or program requires harmonization across federal, state, and local leave laws. The letter recommends a framework in which the federal government establishes national criteria for certain aspects of paid leave policies, including tracking and recordkeeping requirements, while granting states and localities leeway to go beyond the federal requirements for other aspects, such as the types of leave that qualify for wage replacement, the duration of such leave, and the wage replacement level.

    The Paid Leave Working Group issued the RFI in December 2023 and sought diverse stakeholder input on the issue of a federal paid leave policy. Comments were due on January 31, 2023. CUPA-HR will continue to monitor for any updates on paid leave as Congress continues to look for a bipartisan solution.



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  • December Policy Roundup: Paid Leave Policy, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations, and Workforce Development Initiatives – CUPA-HR

    December Policy Roundup: Paid Leave Policy, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations, and Workforce Development Initiatives – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | January 10, 2024

    Through December and into the new calendar year, federal government leaders kept busy with Congressional hearings and markups, new legislation, and proposed and final rules focusing on issues that may be of significance to higher education HR professionals. CUPA-HR tracked several actions from both Congress and federal agencies on issues including paid family leave, short-term Pell Grants, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and workforce development.

    House Education and Workforce Committee Markup

    On December 12, 2023, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a full committee markup on H.R. 6585, the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, and H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act.

    The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act aims to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965, allowing students to use Pell Grants for eight-week or longer educational programs. This bill also establishes quality control measures for Pell initiatives, enabling higher education institutions to participate if they meet specific criteria. The committee voted to move the legislation out of committee with 37 members voting in favor and 8 members voting against the bill.

    The next bill, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, seeks to renew and enhance the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Originally established in 2014, WIOA has been extended through yearly appropriations since fiscal year 2021. The bill incorporates multiple measures to modernize WIOA, bolstering the country’s workforce development to better equip and retain workers. The bill passed through the committee with bipartisan support; 44 members voted in favor of and only one member voted against it.

    Paid Leave Request for Information

    On December 13, the Congressional Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group published a Request for Information (RFI) for diverse stakeholder input to aid in the expansion of access to paid parental, caregiving, and personal medical leave nationwide. The members encouraged interested stakeholders to submit letters that answer these ten questions on the role the federal government can play in creating a national paid leave program.

    Responses must be submitted by January 31, 2024, and can be directed to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]. CUPA-HR will continue to track developments and intends to collaborate with associate organizations to submit feedback on an as-needed basis.

    National Apprenticeship System Enhancement Proposed Rule

    On December 14, the Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled a proposed rule to modernize the regulations for Registered Apprenticeship programs. The 779-page proposal focuses on provisions to create “safeguards for apprentices to ensure that they have healthy and safe working and learning environments as well as just and equitable opportunities throughout their participation in a registered apprenticeship program,” while also creating baseline requirements for career and technical education apprenticeships, which would target high school and postsecondary students to programs that align more closely with programs found at institutions of higher education.

    DOL is providing a 60-day comment period for the proposed rule, which will commence once the regulation is posted in the Federal Register. CUPA-HR is analyzing the rule and will coordinate with other higher education associations as needed to file comments.

    Federal Transit Authority General Directive on Assaults on Transit Workers

    On December 20, the Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) proposed a General Directive to address the ongoing national safety risk concerning assaults on transit workers. Transit agencies falling under FTA’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans directive would be instructed to conduct safety risk assessments, identify mitigation strategies, and report discoveries to FTA. Per the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, transit agencies operating in urban areas must collaborate with the joint labor-management safety committees to reduce safety hazards.

    The deadline for submitting comments in the Federal Register is February 20, 2024, but late submissions may be considered. CUPA-HR is working with members and other higher education associations to determine the impact that this directive may have on transportation and HR services at institutions of higher education.

    Regulations to Implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

    On December 27, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sent its final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review prior to its publication in the Federal Register. The final rule will likely look very similar to the proposed rule that was issued in August 2023, which provides a framework for how the EEOC plans to enforce protections granted to pregnant workers under the PWFA.

    The EEOC was tasked by law with finalizing regulations to implement the PWFA by December 29, 2023. Given the missed deadline, OIRA may move quickly on its review of the regulations, and we could see the final rule published sometime between late January and late February. CUPA-HR is continuing to monitor for any updates and will keep members apprised of any new details that may arise in the final rule.



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  • Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on Paid Leave – CUPA-HR

    Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on Paid Leave – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | November 14, 2023

    On October 25, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on federal paid leave. This comes as congressional Democrats and Republicans have shown interest in finding bipartisan consensus for a federal paid leave program. The hearing also provided policymakers and witnesses the opportunity to discuss the promise and drawbacks of paid leave proposals.

    Increasing employee access to paid leave was a primary focus of the hearing. Both sides of the aisle agreed that all workers will need to take leave during their careers without the obligation to juggle work requirements. Policymakers highlighted that 70 percent of Americans want national paid leave and that 72 percent of Americans who are not currently working cite caregiving and family responsibilities as the main reason. To address these issues, Democrats argued for a federally mandated paid leave program, while Republicans worried that a one-size-fits-all program could limit employer-provided paid leave options and be difficult to implement on a wide scale.

    Witnesses Describe Potential Benefits of Federal Paid Leave

    Some of the witnesses discussed the benefits of a federal paid leave program, concluding that better access to paid leave would benefit workers, employers and the economy. Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, stated that offering paid leave tends to benefit both workers and employers through increased labor force participation (both for women and generally), worker retention, and wage growth. Ben Verhoeven, president of Peoria Gardens Inc., added that investing in paid leave gave him better return on investment than his capital investments, as implementing paid leave increased business growth and employee retention and promotions.

    Objection to a One-Size-Fits-All Leave Program

    Despite these benefits, Elizabeth Milito, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business’s Small Business Legal Center, said that employers would face trade-offs under a federal paid leave program. Milito argued that employers operating on the same amount of funds but under new federal benefit requirements would be obliged to provide paid leave as a benefit, leading to some employers being unable to provide higher compensation or other benefits like health insurance. Rachel Greszler, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said that in response to state paid leave programs, some companies choose to send workers to the state program first and then supplement the paid leave benefit to provide 100 percent wage replacement. This creates an administrative burden for the employee, who receives full wage replacement only if they participate in both paid leave programs.

    Republicans and their witnesses also said that a federal program would require flexibility and simplicity to be most effective. Milito and Greszler concurred that most small businesses do not have a qualified HR professional to deal with additional compliance needs. Greszler also stated that the biggest unintended consequence of a one-size-fits-all approach would be a rigid structure that does not work for most employees and businesses. She specified that a carve-out for small businesses or the ability to opt in to a federal program would be most appropriate.

    CUPA-HR continues to monitor for any updates on federal paid leave programs and will keep members apprised of any new developments.



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  • IRS Issues Employer Guidance on COVID-19 Paid Leave Tax Credits – CUPA-HR

    IRS Issues Employer Guidance on COVID-19 Paid Leave Tax Credits – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | September 22, 2021

    On September 7, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2021-53, which includes guidance to employers on reporting the amount of qualified sick and family leave wages paid to employees for leave taken in 2021 as provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

    The FFCRA required private sector employers with 500 or fewer employees to provide emergency paid family and medical leave and emergency paid sick leave to employees who could not work or telework due to certain COVID-19 complications. The FFCRA also established fully refundable tax credits that employers may receive after providing the emergency paid family and sick leave. The tax credits under the FFCRA were set to expire on December 31, 2020, but they were extended to cover wages voluntarily paid through March 31, 2021 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and again through September 30, 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Employers were no longer required to provide the paid sick and family and medical leave wages to employees after the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, but employers that voluntarily provided paid leave that would have satisfied the paid family leave and paid sick leave requirements under the FFCRA were eligible for the same fully refundable tax credits.

    The new IRS notice states that employers will be required to report the amount of qualified sick and family leave wages paid to employees between January 1 and September 30, 2021 either on the Form W-2, Box 14, or in a separate statement provided with the Form W-2. The notice also includes model language to help employers communicate information about the qualified sick leave and family and medical leave wages to employees, as well as the impact these wages may have on tax credits the employee may be entitled to with respect to self-employment income.

    CUPA-HR will keep members apprised of any additional tax-related guidance from the IRS as it relates to COVID-19 policies and guidance.



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