The fast-changing world of college athletics is about to collide with the ever-changing doctrine of joint employment.
In January 2022, on behalf of football and basketball athletes at the University of Southern California (USC), the National College Players Association (NCPA) filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against USC…
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to change the standard for determining if two employers may be joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The proposed rule, expected to become effective sometime in 2023, could make it more likely that professional and collegiate leagues would be…
For the first time since the NCAA issued its Interim Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Policy on July 1, 2021, the NCAA Board of Directors issued new guidance in an attempt to place some limits on the involvement of boosters in the rapidly growing NIL landscape.
The new guidance, issued on May 9, 2022, provides…
Unable to find a student-athlete willing to file an unfair labor practice charge to support the effort of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to reclassify student-athletes as “employees” as defined in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Michael Hsu, co-founder of the recently formed college basketball player advocacy group, the…
As vaccination mandates continue to be a topic of discussion and discord in the workplace, the world of college athletics is not exempt from similar mandatory vaccine controversy.
The First Amendment rights of 16 student-athletes seeking a religious exemption as a basis to avoid compliance with Western Michigan University’s (WMU) COVID-19 vaccination requirement were “likely…
The on-and-off effort at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to classify “student-athletes” as “employees” has renewed. Although the National Labor Relations Act contains no formal recognition of student-athletes as employees, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum on September 28, 2021 (GC 21-08) asserting
“her prosecutorial position” that certain players at academic institutions
…
On August 31, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 26 (SB 26) which makes the provisions of the Fair Pay to Play Act (The Act) operative September 1, 2021, and makes the provisions applicable to the California Community Colleges.
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In a much-anticipated move, the NCAA Division I Council has approved a rule change to modify current transfer rules and unify all student-athletes under the same transfer rules. The change will allow student-athletes in five sports (football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, and men’s hockey) to join other Division I student-athletes. It also will authorize…
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves is expected to make Mississippi the seventh state to enact name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation.
When signed, the Mississippi Intercollegiate Athletics Compensation Rights Act will allow Mississippi student-athletes to earn endorsement compensation from the use of their name, image, and likeness and authorize their hiring and use of professional representation,…
The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it would allow the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to became an additional presenter during the landmark case, NCAA v. Alston, which is set for oral argument on March 31, 2021.
The Alston case arises out of consolidated appeals from the NCAA and several high-level conferences in…
