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Counsel for NLRB determines players at private schools are employees

(AP)
(AP)

The general counsel attorney for the National Labor Relations Board said Tuesday that football players at private schools should be classified as employees.

The declaration came in a memo to the NLRB’s regional directors. From Inside Higher Ed:

In Tuesday’s memo, Griffin, the NLRB’s general counsel, stated that by not asserting jurisdiction, the board “expressly declined to resolve the issue of whether college football players are employees under the NLRA.” Scholarship FBS athletes at private institutions, Griffin wrote, “clearly satisfy the broad definition of employee and the common-law test.”

The decision comes more than a year after the NLRB said it wouldn’t uphold a 2014 ruling that said Northwestern football players weren’t university employees. The decision to not classify the players as employees prevented the votes by Wildcat players regarding unionization from being tallied.

In march of 2014, Northwestern players won their case with the NLRB, which classified the school’s scholarship players as employees under the common law definition of an employee. Northwestern appealed the ruling and, obviously, won the appeal. The appeal ruling judged that players unionizing at Northwestern could potentially alter the “competitive practice” in college football.

The decline in jurisdiction means no determination was given on the employee status of players at public universities. The Inside Higher Ed article notes that the NLRB has no authority in the public realm and a spokesperson for the NCAA also notes that the memo doesn’t change the August 2015 ruling.

“The NLRB previously decided that it would not exercise jurisdiction regarding the employment context of student-athletes and their schools,” Remy said. “The general counsel’s memo does not change that decision and does not allow student-athletes to unionize. Students who participate in college athletics are students, not employees.”

And while the determination may not change anything in practicality, it could have ramifications in the future as players continue to realize the leverage that they have at major football programs. Over the last few years, schools have already relaxed food limitation sand implemented cost of attendance stipends. While it’s a stretch to think players at private schools will be classified as employees anytime soon, don’t discount the possibility the classification could help spur further reforms in the favor of athletes.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!