Compliance Alert – September 2023
- September 27th, 2023
- in Compliance, Newsletter
Legislative Updates
The 2023 Legislative Session is now complete, and the 2024 Legislative session will begin in February 2024.
Final Rules
Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations
In this final rule, the Department of Labor (Department or DOL) updates regulations issued under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. As the first comprehensive regulatory review in nearly 40 years, revisions to these regulations will promote compliance, provide appropriate and updated guidance, and enhance their usefulness in the modern economy.
Federal Agency: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice
Affected Area: Campus Development
Revised Definition of “Waters of the United States”; Conforming
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (“the agencies”) are amending the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to conform the definition of “waters of the United States” to a 2023 Supreme Court decision. This conforming rule amends the provisions of the agencies’ definition of “waters of the United States” that are invalid under the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Clean Water Act in the 2023 decision.
Federal Agency: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice
Affected Area: Campus Development, EHS
Proposed Rules
Annual Reporting of Explosive Materials Storage Facilities to the Local Fire Authority
The Department of Justice is proposing to amend Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) regulations to require that any person who stores explosive materials notify on an annual basis the authority having jurisdiction for fire safety in the locality in which the explosive materials are being stored of the type of explosives, magazine capacity, and location of each site where such materials are stored. In addition, the proposed rule requires any person who stores explosive materials to notify the authority having jurisdiction for fire safety in the locality in which the explosive materials were stored whenever storage is discontinued. These changes are intended to increase public safety.
Federal Agency: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice
Affected Area: EHS, Office of Emergency Management, UAPD
Comments Due: 11/21/2023
Child Protection Improvements Act Criteria for Designated Entity Determinations
The Department of Justice is proposing to promulgate regulations (“proposed rule” or “rule”) concerning the Child Protection Improvements Act of 2018 (“CPIA”). The CPIA provides a means by which authorized qualified entities can have access to national criminal history background checks for determinations of whether covered individuals have been convicted of, or are under pending indictment for, a crime that bears upon their fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities. As required by the CPIA, these proposed regulations would establish the criteria to be utilized by an entity designated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to make these determinations.
Federal Agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice
Affected Area: Youth Protection
Comments Due: 9/25/2023
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is proposing to amend the REAL ID regulations to waive, on a temporary and State-by-State basis, the regulatory requirement that mobile or digital driver’s licenses or identification cards (collectively “mobile driver’s licenses” or “mDLs”) must be compliant with REAL ID requirements to be accepted by Federal agencies for official purposes, as defined by the REAL ID Act, when full enforcement of the REAL ID Act and regulations begins on May 7, 2025.
Federal Agency: Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security
Affected Area: HR
Comments Due: 10/16/2023
In this proposal, the Department of Labor (Department) is updating and revising the regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act implementing the exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees. Significant proposed revisions include increasing the standard salary level to the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region (currently the South)—$1,059 per week ($55,068 annually for a full-year worker)—and increasing the highly compensated employee total annual compensation threshold to the annualized weekly earnings of the 85th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally ($143,988). The Department is also proposing to add to the regulations an automatic updating mechanism that would allow for the timely and efficient updating of all the earnings thresholds.
Federal Agency: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor
Affected Area: HR
Comments Due: 11/7/2023
Proposed Priorities, Requirements, and Definitions-National Professional Development Program
The NPD program, authorized by sections 3111(c)(1)(C) and 3131 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965(ESEA), provides grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or public or private entities with relevant experience and capacity, in consortia with State educational agencies (SEAs) or local educational agencies (LEAs), to implement pre-service and in-service professional development activities intended to improve instruction for English Learners (ELs) and assist education personnel working with ELs to meet high professional standards.
Federal Agency: Office of English Language Acquisition, Department of Education
Affected Area: College of Education
Comments Due: 10/16/2023
Notices
The Federal Direct PLUS Loan Request for Supplemental Information serves as the means by which a parent or graduate/professional student Direct PLUS Loan applicant may provide certain information to a school that will assist the school in originating the borrower’s Direct PLUS Loan award, as an alternative to providing this information to the school by other means established by the school. This is a request for a revision of the currently approved form. The form was reorganized for improved usability and flow. There has been no change to the underlying regulations.
Federal Agency: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid
Comments Due: 10/16/2023
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled “Informed Consent: Guidance for Institutional Review Boards, Clinical Investigators, and Sponsors.” The guidance announced in this notice is intended to assist institutional review boards (IRBs), clinical investigators, and sponsors involved in clinical investigations of FDA-regulated products in carrying out their responsibilities related to informed consent. The guidance provides the Agency’s recommendations regarding informed consent and describes FDA regulatory requirements to help assure the protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects in clinical investigations. This guidance finalizes the draft guidance entitled, “Informed Consent Information Sheet: Guidance for Institutional Review Boards, Clinical Investigators, and Sponsors,” issued on July 15, 2014, and supersedes FDA’s guidance entitled “A Guide to Informed Consent,” issued in September 1998.
Federal Agency: Food and Drug Administration, HHS
Affected Area: ORED
Waiver of Buy America Requirements for De Minimis Costs and Small Grants
The Department of Transportation (DOT) seeks to maximize the use of American-made products and materials in all federally funded projects as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s implementation of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA), which was included in the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). In this notice, DOT is taking action to finalize a limited waiver of Buy America requirements for de minimis costs and small grants. Based on public comments from stakeholders, this final waiver is narrower than what DOT had first proposed on November 4, 2022. The waiver will allow DOT and its assistance recipients to focus their domestic sourcing efforts on products that provide the greatest manufacturing opportunities for American workers and firms and reduce delays in the delivery of important transportation infrastructure projects that provide jobs and promote economic growth.
Federal Agency: Department of Transportation
Affected Area: Procurement, Office of Sponsored Programs
EPA relies on scientific information to achieve its’ mission of protecting human health and the environment. Participatory science and crowdsourcing techniques allow the Agency to collect qualitative and quantitative data that could inform scientific research, assessments, or environmental screening; validate environmental models or tools; or enhance the quantity and quality of data collected across the country’s diverse communities and ecosystems in support of the Agency’s mission. Information gathered under this generic ICR may be used by the Agency to support the activities listed above. Collections under this generic ICR will be: (i) from participants who actively seek to participate on their own initiative through an open and transparent process (the Agency does not select participants or require participation); (ii) low-burden for participants; (iii) low-cost for both the participants and the Federal Government; and (iv) available to support the scientific research (including assessments, environmental screening, tools, models, etc.) of the Agency, states, Tribal or local entities where data collection occurs. EPA may, by virtue of collaborating with nonfederal entities, sponsor the collection of this type of information in connection with participatory science projects. When applicable, all such collections will comply with Agency policies and regulations related to human subjects research and will follow the established approval paths through EPA’s Human Subjects Research Review Official. Finally, personally identifiable information will only be collected when necessary and in accordance with applicable federal procedures and policies. If a new collection is not within the parameters of this generic ICR, the Agency will submit a separate information collection request to OMB for approval.
Federal Agency: Department of Transportation
Affected Area: Procurement, Office of Sponsored Programs
Comments Due: 10/20/2023
This notice announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is suspending certain regulatory requirements for F–1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Ukraine, regardless of country of birth (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ukraine), and who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current armed conflict in Ukraine. The Secretary is taking action to provide relief to these Ukrainian students who are in lawful F–1 nonimmigrant student status, so the students may request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course load while continuing to maintain their F–1 nonimmigrant student status. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will deem an F–1 nonimmigrant student granted employment authorization by means of this notice to be engaged in a “full course of study” for the duration of the employment authorization, if the nonimmigrant student satisfies the minimum course load requirement described in this notice.
Federal Agency: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Department of Homeland Security
Affected Area: Admissions, Capstone International
Requiring Identity Verification for Attorney-Sponsored Accounts
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announces that beginning on January 20, 2024, all existing and new attorney support staff with an attorney-sponsored USPTO.gov account will be required to verify their identity to access trademark filing systems. The USPTO is making this change after discovering that some U.S.-licensed attorneys have sponsored accounts for individuals who are not directly supervised attorney support staff, and that many of these sponsored accounts appear to be shared by multiple foreign agents and attorneys. These actions violate the Trademark Verified USPTO.gov Account Agreement (Agreement).
Federal Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce
Affected Area: ORED
The 2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Full-Scale (BPS:20/25) is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the Institute of Education Sciences, within the Department of Education, and is part of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study data collection program. BPS is designed to follow a cohort of students who enroll in postsecondary education for the first time during the same academic year, irrespective of the date of high school completion. The study collects data on students’ persistence in and completion of postsecondary education programs; their transition to employment; demographic characteristics; and changes over time in their goals, marital status, income, and debt, among other indicators. Data from BPS are used to help researchers and policymakers better understand how financial aid influences persistence and completion, what percentages of students complete various degree programs, what are the early employment and wage outcomes for certificate and degree attainers, and why students leave school.
Federal Agency: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Financial Aid, Registrar
Comments Due: 11/6/2023
Simplifying FEMA Preparedness Grants
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) aims to improve the management and administration of its preparedness grant programs to continue to assist the nation in building and sustaining capabilities to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to terrorist attacks and other hazards. FEMA is issuing this Notice and Request for Information (RFI) to seek public input on simplifying and streamlining its preparedness grant process to improve the efficiency and accessibility of its suite of preparedness grant programs.
Federal Agency: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Secur
Affected Area: Emergency Preparedness
Comments Due: 11/7/2023
Section 483, of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), mandates that the Secretary of Education “. . . shall produce, distribute, and process free of charge common financial reporting forms as described in this subsection to be used for application and reapplication to determine the need and eligibility of a student for financial assistance . . .”. The determination of need and eligibility are for the following title IV, HEA, federal student financial assistance programs: the Federal Pell Grant Program; the Campus-Based programs (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS)),; the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant; the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship; and the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.
Federal Agency: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid
Comments Due: 10/16/2023
Items of Interest
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is seeking nominations for membership on the Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Statistics (BSC, NCHS). The BSC, NCHS consists of up to 15 experts including the Chair in fields associated with the scientific and technical program objectives of the Center.
Comments Due: 9/22/2023
The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Department of the Treasury invites the public to submit expressions of interest in serving as members of the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI). Submissions must be received by FIO no later than September 30, 2023.
Biden Administration Releases Guidance on Affirmative Action
The federal government released long-awaited resources for colleges this morning on the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down affirmative action, offering legal guidance on a number of questions that have been the subject of interpretive debate since the June 29 ruling.
The Departments of Education and Justice, which released the guidance together, encouraged colleges to thoroughly review and update their admissions policies to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s finding that considering race as a factor “in and of itself” was illegal.
Georgetown University Transforms Campus Energy by Tapping Global Energy Expertise
Through an innovative partnership with ENGIE, Georgetown University is set to reduce its energy use intensity 35% by 2031 and has accelerated its journey to sustainable utility operations on campus. Learn more about it in this case study.
Who Should Be Called a ‘Doctor’?
Lawmakers in Georgia recently stepped into the fray by approving a new law that strictly limits nonphysician health care providers from calling, or commercially promoting, themselves as doctors even if they hold a doctoral degree. The “Health Care Practitioners Truth and Transparency Act,” which went into effect in May, regulates how Georgia “health care practitioners” ranging from physician assistants and nurse practitioners to pharmacists, psychologists and occupational therapists, refer to themselves. It prohibits the use of “doctor” or the prefix “Dr.” by a health care provider who is not a licensed doctor of medicine (MD) or doctor of osteopathy (DO) in any advertisements. Violation of the law could result in the loss or suspension of the practitioner’s license.
Animal Welfare Noncompliance: Data and Process
As part of proper stewardship of taxpayer funds, we at NIH are obligated, both legally and ethically, to ensure the welfare and reduce risks for those involved in our supported research activities. This obligation includes research animals. Their humane care and use is something we take very seriously. We appreciate that Congress, the research community, interest groups, and other members of the public look towards us to observe this commitment. Today we are taking some time to touch upon our policies to protect animal welfare, discuss how we process reports of noncompliance, and provide resources to help recipients and researchers ensure their work involving animals is conducted appropriately.
Informed Consent Guidance for IRBs, Clinical Investigators, and Sponsors
This guidance is intended to assist institutional review boards (IRBs), clinical investigators, and sponsors in complying with FDA’s informed consent regulations for clinical investigations. This guidance supersedes FDA’s guidance entitled “A Guide to Informed Consent,” issued in September 1998, and finalizes FDA’s draft guidance entitled “Informed Consent Information Sheet,” issued in July 2014. This document is structured to first present general guidance on FDA’s regulatory requirements for informed consent and a discussion of the roles of IRBs, clinical investigators, sponsors, and FDA related to informed consent, followed by a series of frequently asked questions.
Solicitation of Nominations for Membership To Serve on the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines
HRSA is seeking nominations of qualified candidates for consideration for appointment as members of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV). ACCV advises the Secretary of HHS (the Secretary) on issues related to the implementation of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).
AI Raises Complicated Questions About Authorship
Not long ago, readers who wanted access to original New York Times reporting generally had one option—access the stories via a paid subscription to the newspaper’s website or print edition. But OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT in late 2022 changed the news-consumption landscape. Now, readers can ask the bot to report on the newspaper’s (earlier) coverage, which diminishes incentives to visit its site. As a result, The New York Times is considering legal action against OpenAI, as reported by NPR. The move echoes recent open letters, social media posts and lawsuits from authors, academic publishers and others seeking to protect their intellectual property rights from generative AI tools.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is seeking nominations for membership on the Board of Scientific Counselors, Center for Preparedness and Response, (BSC, CPR). The BSC, CPR consists of 11 experts in fields associated with business, crisis leadership, emergency response and management, informatics, laboratory science, medicine, mental and behavioral health, public health law, public health practice, risk communication, and social science.
Comments Due: 10/31/2023
Solicitation of Nominations for Appointment to the Lead Exposure and Prevention Advisory Committee
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is soliciting nominations for membership on the Lead Exposure and Prevention Advisory Committee (LEPAC). The LEPAC is composed of 15 members that are Federal and non-Federal experts in fields associated with lead screening, the prevention of lead exposure, and services for individuals and communities affected by lead exposure.
Comments Due: 9/30/2023
Grant Information Circular: NASA COI Policy Updates
Through this GIC, NASA is effectuating revisions to the GCAM that implement a revised conflict of interest (COI) disclosure policy for grant and cooperative agreement recipients. …The GAO recommended that NASA update its COI policy to include non-financial conflicts, such as conflicts of commitment (COC), and document procedures for addressing and enforcing failures to disclose required information. The revised COI policy in Appendix A of this GIC only pertains to the disclosure of significant financial interests and COI. NASA will address COC in a separate policy regarding biographical sketch and current and pending support disclosure requirements at a later date.
Risks and Rewards as Higher Ed Invests in an AI Future
Higher ed funding—and a lot of it—is flowing into AI as institutions make big bets that artificial intelligence will be as universal and disruptive as the internet. Institutions across the country are spending vast sums, hiring dozens of faculty and erecting large-scale AI-focused centers.
But even as colleges and universities boldly dive into the AI deep end, industry experts and analysts are urging caution and thoughtful approaches, both for institutions rushing ahead and those at risk of being left on the sidelines.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is requesting that any industry organizations interested in participating in the selection of nonvoting industry representatives to serve on the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) for the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research notify FDA in writing. FDA is also requesting nominations for a nonvoting industry representative(s) to serve on the VRBPAC. A nominee may either be self-nominated or nominated by an organization to serve as a nonvoting industry representative. Nominations will be accepted for current vacancies effective with this notice.
Comments Due: 10/11/2023
Policies
| Posting Date | Department | Contact | Name | Effective Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/12/2023 | Student Life | Todd Borst | Code of Student Conduct
|
8/1/2019 | Revised Policy: Revisions and additions include expanding disruptive behavior, unauthorized entry into bodies of water and fountains on campus, addressing exhibition driving, and adding the option of adjudication conduct cases in the student’s absence. Also, clarification language was added regarding Interim Measures and anonymous reporting. |
| 9/6/2023 | Office of Institutional Effectiveness | Dr. Lesley Reid | Teaching Credentials Policy for UA Instructors of Record | 11/1/2016 | Revised Policy: Revising policy to better accommodate new types of classes and programs. |