The Student-Athlete Employee?
On July 11, 2024, a federal appeals court refused to agree with the NCAA argument that student-athletes could not be considered employees of their NCAA schools under minimum wage law. Instead, they sent the case back down to a lower court for further consideration of the issue. This opinion comes more than a year after it was argued at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge in this case, L. Felipe Restrepo, stated some important points regarding whether the minimum wage law actually applies to college athletes. Restrepo stated that the college athletes are not precluded from bringing a FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) claim despite the NCAA labeling them as amateurs. He sent the issue down to the lower court to specifically consider whether the relationship between the athlete and college/NCAA reveal that of an employee/employer in today’s economy. Restrepo even noted that his opinion they did not use the term “student-athlete” since it is a NCAA marketing invention.
The decision now will ultimately rely upon lower-level US District Judge John Pardova.In August 2021, Pardova denied the NCAA’s bid to dismiss the case and stated that it is “plausible” that athletes could be employees. Now, Pardova will have to decide what Paul McDonald, attorney for the athletes in this case, has stated that college athletes can be both “students and employees.”
Other Student-Athlete Employee Issues
In February, the National Labor Relations Board regional director ordered a union election for Dartmouth College men’s basketball players. He specifically stated that since Dartmouth College controls the work performed by the players and the players perform that work for compensation, hence they are considered school employees under the National Labor Relations Act. Since then, Dartmouth players voted to unionize and Dartmouth wants a full NLRB review of the case and may seek resolution of the matter in court.
Further, the NLRB Los Angeles office filed a complaint against the NCAA, Pac0-12 conference and the University of Southern California, alleging the wrongful misclassification of college athletes as “student-athletes” rather than employees. An administrative law judge will decide this case.
The United States Congress in now actively getting involved in the matter. Recently, the House Committee on Education and Workforce approved a bill that would not let student-athletes be considered employees of a school, conference or the NCAA. It will eventually be brought to the House floor for further consideration. Ted Cruz, a republican congressman out of Texas, has drafted a proposal also stating that student-athletes cannot be considered employees of a school, conference or the NCAA.
What’s Next?
​In conclusion, the future of whether a student-athlete is still an employee is still up in the air. This recent ruling has shown that there is a world where a college athlete can be consideredan employee of the school, conference or the NCAA. While others, including schools, the NCAA and even Congress, may disagree, it is imperative to note how the United States judicial system is acknowledging the possibility of the NCAA student-athlete being considered an “employee.” While this issue continues to get argued in courts, congress, labor board and schools, student-athletes themselves have shown they will not go down without a fight until they themselves get the proper distinction and rights they deserve.