Summer offers a valuable opportunity for colleges and universities to review their HR policies and employee handbooks before hiring cycles intensify and campus operations become more demanding in the fall. Human resources policies shape how institutions handle recruitment, employee conduct, leave, complaints, performance issues, accommodations, and separations. When those policies are outdated, inconsistent, or poorly communicated, legal risk can spread across departments quickly. A summer review helps institutions identify problem areas before they lead to employee conflict or administrative strain.

When your HR office is conducting its summer review, it should consider and engage legal counsel to assess whether current policies and employee handbook language reflect:

Current institutional practice? Over time, HR offices often adapt procedures informally in response to staffing changes, operational demands, or evolving legal considerations. If written policies lag behind those practices, institutions may create confusion about employee rights, managerial discretion, or required process. That gap matters when employment decisions are challenged. Policies should accurately describe how key matters are handled, including complaint reporting, workplace expectations, leave administration, accommodations, and disciplinary procedures. Consistency between what is written and what is done is a basic but essential form of risk management.

State and federal legal developments? Several legal developments from recent years deserve attention in any HR policy review. Recent Supreme Court decisions reflect that institutions now face a significantly higher burden when denying religious accommodation requests, and courts expect institutions to engage proactively, consider alternative accommodations, and document that analysis carefully for any employee accommodation requests, including religious and disability accommodations. Federal labor law has also continued to evolve: the joint employer standard reverted in early 2026 to the 2020 formulation, and graduate student unionization has continued to expand at private universities. Institutions should ensure that HR policies are current with these developments and that the employees responsible for implementing them understand the governing legal framework. Add to this ever-changing state laws supporting pregnancy accommodations and paid family and medical leave.

The increased use of AI in the workplace? The use of artificial intelligence in the workplace and in HR is another area that warrants policy attention. Institutions using AI-assisted tools in recruitment, performance monitoring, or scheduling should assess whether those systems have been evaluated for potential bias, whether their use is disclosed to affected employees and applicants, and whether any applicable collective bargaining obligations have been addressed. AI-related employment practices are an area of expanding legal scrutiny. Ensuring the security of student education records under FERPA and academic freedom, while using generative AI, is also a developing area. Institutions that have not yet developed clear guidance on AI in the workplace and HR contexts should treat that gap as a priority.

HR policy review is not simply a compliance exercise. It is a chance to strengthen the institutional framework for managing people fairly, consistently, and transparently. By using the summer to update and align HR policies, colleges and universities can reduce avoidable disputes and enter the fall with a more reliable foundation for employment decision-making.

Hunton’s higher education team regularly reviews and revises HR policies and employee handbooks for institutions and advises clients on employment law and related compliance matters. If you would like to discuss how we can assist, please contact Gerry Leone, Amy Fabiano, or Brigid Harrington.