NRLB Counsel: FBS Private University Student Athletes are Employees

Cerebus · February 2, 2017

Quote

In a memorandum sent Tuesday to the board’s regional directors, the NLRB’s general counsel, Richard Griffin, wrote that “scholarship football players in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision private-sector colleges and universities are employees” under the National Labor Relations Act. While limited to granting protections under just one section of the act, the memo clarifies that football players at private FBS programs are entitled to campaign for their own interests as employees, including asking for pay, free of retaliation. There are 17 private colleges and universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Football Bowl Subdivision.

greenminer · February 2, 2017

For fun, trying to think of them off the top of my head:

Rice
Tulane
Vanderbilt
TCU
Baylor
BC
Miami
Duke
Notre Dame
Northwestern

....7 more. I'm stumped.

ETA: Vandy is not considered private?

Army of Dad · February 2, 2017

11 minutes ago, greenminer said:

For fun, trying to think of them off the top of my head:

Rice
Tulane
Vanderbilt
TCU
Baylor
BC
Miami
Duke
Notre Dame
Northwestern

....7 more. I'm stumped.

ETA: Vandy is not considered private?

Wake Forest

Stanford

Tulsa

SMUt

Edited February 2, 2017 by Army of Dad

TreeFiddy · February 2, 2017

USC

BYU

letsgiveacheer · February 2, 2017

10 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

USC

Just another directional school.

Boston College
Rice
Stanford
Duke
Vanderbilt
Syracuse
Miami
Notre Dame
USC
Wake Forest
Tulane
TCU
Tulsa
Baylor
SMU
BYU

PS thanks to Google!

Edited February 2, 2017 by letsgiveacheer

MeanGreen13 · February 2, 2017

1 hour ago, letsgiveacheer said:

Just another directional school.

Boston College

Rice

Stanford

Duke

Vanderbilt

Syracuse

Miami

Notre Dame

USC

Wake Forest

Tulane

TCU

Tulsa

Baylor

SMU

BYU

PS thanks to Google!

forgot Northwestern.

Edited February 2, 2017 by MeanGreen13

Harry · February 2, 2017

Wow I thought there were more. So what does this decision mean? Can SMU start paying their players a salary and provide benefits? This could have huge ramifications.

Cerebus · February 2, 2017

1 hour ago, Harry said:

Wow I thought there were more. So what does this decision mean? Can SMU start paying their players a salary and provide benefits? This could have huge ramifications.

I don't think anyone knows for sure yet. There is a lot of risk reward of course, but in my eyes mainly risk. If they are employees are they eligible for workmans comp? Probably. That coverage will be very expensive.

MeanGreenTexan · February 2, 2017

2 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

I don't think anyone knows for sure yet. There is a lot of risk reward of course, but in my eyes mainly risk. If they are employees are they eligible for workmans comp? Probably. That coverage will be very expensive.

A lot of those universities' tuition is very expensive (and would count as income). Add whatever pay these athletes would get... I hope they're good at saving and have a good tax prep guy.

TreeFiddy · February 2, 2017

So, are students on academic scholarship also employees?

Cerebus · February 2, 2017

8 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

So, are students on academic scholarship also employees?

At public universities? Not according to this finding.

TreeFiddy · February 2, 2017

3 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

At public universities? Not according to this finding.

Is the assumption that this ruling would also cover academic scholarships at private universities?

Cerebus · February 2, 2017

7 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

Is the assumption that this ruling would also cover academic scholarships at private universities?

No idea. Feel free to read the links on that page and get back to us.

Aldo · February 2, 2017

Whoa totally missed this one.

They're still not allowed to unionize?

MeanGreen_MBA · February 2, 2017

So, do they get a pay check, then have to cover their own tuition? If that is the case, how many of the players will have to drop out mid-way through the season due to the fact they cannot cover tuition because they spent all of their money????? This is not going to be good.....

Mean Green 93-98 · February 2, 2017

5 hours ago, Cerebus said:

At public universities? Not according to this finding.

IF this does lead to athletes at private universities being fully paid, the NCAA will be forced to open the same door to public universities. Regardless of legal obligations.

NT1978 · February 2, 2017

6 hours ago, Harry said:

Wow I thought there were more. So what does this decision mean? Can SMU start paying their players a salary and provide benefits? This could have huge ramifications.

Did they stop?

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · February 2, 2017

Two things:
(1) From the article:
"The new memo partly answers a question left open by the full National Labor Relations Board in 2015, when it declined to assert jurisdiction over whether football players at Northwestern University could form a union. It does not reverse that ruling, however, nor does it carry the force of law."

So, this will not be enforceable in real, live courts of law.

(2) From the article:
"Griffin was appointed the NLRB's general counsel by President Obama in 2013. His term ends in November, and his replacement could issue different guidance. Donald Remy, the NCAA's general counsel, said the new memo does not reflect a binding position of the NLRB and that the document will not affect the association's stance."

He says this in recognition of two things: (1) as stated before, it carries no weight of law, and (2) Trump will replace Griffin with his own guy in November...if not sooner.

Therefore, my prediction is nothing happens. This is a political thing that people being replaced do: try to throw their weight around for things they couldn't get done during the bulk of their term.

Every president does this in the waning days of their tenure. Obama made a flurry of Executive Orders at the end of his term, the majority of which will be overturned by Trump's EOs.

At the department levels, the same thing happens. As political appointees of the old are replaced by the new, old "decisions" and "opinions" and "guidances" are scrapped in favor of what the new political appointee wants.

There is the caveat, of course, that Trump simply fires this guy Griffin before November as well. We have now seen that that he's not above (below?) firing career bureaucrats who push a position he (or Steve Bannon or Rinse Prius) doesn't like.

(SIDENOTE: It's going to be a loooong four years.)