Talking Stick - March/April 2017 - 38

how compensable time was to be
fairly and consistently calculated
and speculation about the effect
these changes would have on
department budgets.
The change was planned
to go into effect on December
1, 2016, before a preliminary
injunction delayed the measure.
Again, in this case, questions
were raised about whether the
the new guidelines would ever be
enacted officially.

Cathryn Oakley, a senior legislative counsel with the
Human Rights Campaign, outlined the recent history
of LGBTQ legislation and offered predictions for what
the future holds in this area.

quiet on this issue, that is not good
news for students. They encouraged
housing department leadership to
understand how campus efforts
to prevent and respond to sexual
assaults are being managed and what
assistance or guidance is available at
the state level.
Campuses witnessed a similar
back-and-forth regarding the update
to the Fair Labor Standards Act, a
process that began in 2014 and most
notably involved an increase to the
exempt salary threshold from $23,660
to $47,476. This change was poised
to have a dramatic impact on campus
housing departments as a number
of staff faced reclassification, many
of whom were live-in professionals
whose compensation did not meet
the new exempt level. This change led
to the question of "what is work"or

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Dickens, Harnisch, and
York forecast that the new
standard exemption for
FLSA would not be imposed.
However, as many in the room
acknowledged, that didn't change
the fact that many campuses had
already reviewed, revised, and -
in some cases - implemented the
changes. While no longer legally
obligated to increase salaries,
many felt they could not un-ring
that bell.

Eric Johnson, a partner with
the Walter and Haverfield law
firm in Cleveland, Ohio, agreed that
the proposed FLSA changes were
unlikely to occur. However, Johnson,
who is chair of the firm's Education
Law Department, also raised the
question that, even if campuses will
not need to comply with the revised
FLSA regulations, this does not erase
the question about whether or not
the existing conditions reflect the
institution's basic values of fairness in
the workplace. The statement elicited
several knowing nods across the
room as individuals shared that FLSA
discussions had spurred their efforts
as employers to keep a closer eye on
employees and ensure that they are
making good choices with their time.
Others said it provided opportunities
to make evaluations and adjustments
with mid-level staff salaries to help

them be more competitive and better
able to retain staff.
Johnson applied similar reasoning
to the question of whether or not
campuses should be concerned about
the likelihood of student workers
unionizing. While not likely to be a
cause pursued or supported by the
appointee of the new administration,
the overall question of how student
staff, such as resident assistants, are
managed will remain a topic to be
watched.

DISSENTING VOICES
As the State of the Profession
attendees started the third day of the
program, they were greeted by news
that, the night before, protests at the
University of California-Berkeley
resulted in fires and an estimated
$100,000 in damage. The protesters'
target was Milo Yiannopoulos, an
outspoken editor of the conservative
Breitbart News, whose tour of
campuses across the country had
been followed by similar incidents,
including a protest at the University of
Washington in Seattle where a person
had been shot.
The fact that this protest occurred
on the same campus that launched the
free speech movement in the 1960s
was not lost on many. The response
from other, primarily conservative,
voices from around the country was
quick as well. President Trump tweeted
that, perhaps, U.C. Berkeley would
be cut off from federal funds. In a
press release, the governor of North
Carolina said, "No student or guest of a
university should ever feel threatened
to exercise their First Amendment
right of free speech, nor should they
be prohibited from doing so," as he
announced proposed legislation to
eliminate speech codes and potentially
expose campuses to lawsuits. Similarly,
Talking Stick - March/April 2017

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