Student Athletes as Employees?

In 1852, Yale and Harvard had the first intercollegiate sporting event in the US. Since then, college sports teams have become a big part of their schools. College athletes have always been considered students, not employees. But in 2014, Northwestern University’s football players wanted to be recognized as employees so they could form a union. The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board said they were employees, and the case could change college athletics. Northwestern University’s football program is a big moneymaker for the school, bringing in $235 million in revenue over 10 years. The team spends about $159 million during the same time. The school recruits players based on their football skills and academic record, and offers scholarships to about 85 of the 112 players on the team. The scholarships cover tuition, fees, books, room, and board. The NCAA recently changed its rules to allow schools to offer four-year scholarships to players, and Northwestern University has started offering these longer scholarships. Football players participate in intensive training camps in August before the season starts. During the season, players spend 40-50 hours per week on football activities, with no academic credit. They have rigorous schedules on weekdays, along with games on Saturdays. After the season, players have winter workouts and spring football, followed by summer workouts before training camp begins again in August. The football players at the university have special rules to follow. They have to live on campus, get approval for off-campus housing, and can’t have a job without the coach’s OK. They also have to follow social media rules and can’t make money from their image or reputation. They have strict drug and alcohol policies to follow. When it comes to classes, scholarship athletes have to prioritize football practice over their classes, but the university says they will help players with class conflicts if it’s necessary for their major. The university also provides tutoring and study programs to help the players with their schoolwork. The regional director used a legal test to decide if the scholarship athletes at Northwestern University are considered employees. They decided that the athletes are employees because they perform services for the university in return for compensation. The director pointed out that the football program makes a lot of money for the university, and the university has a lot of control over how they use that money. This means that the university wants to have a successful football team, so they recruit good players with scholarships. The university offers football players big scholarships to come play for their team. The players rely on these scholarships to pay for things like food and a place to live. If the players don’t perform well, the head coach can take away their scholarships. The players have to follow strict rules set by the coaching staff, both on and off the field. They basically have to do whatever the coaching staff tells them to do. The regional director ruled that college football players are employees, not just students, because they spend so much time on football. This goes against a previous ruling about graduate assistants at Brown University. Now the board is reviewing this decision, and it might take a long time before a final decision is made. The recent Northwestern University decision may have potential implications for public colleges and universities in Florida. Although the decision doesn’t directly apply to Florida public employers, it could still impact them because of Florida’s Public Employee Relations Act (PERA). This act governs the collective bargaining rights of public sector employers and employees in Florida. In the past, there have been legal battles over whether graduate assistants at Florida’s public universities have the right to unionize. The courts have ruled in favor of allowing them to unionize, but the legislature later excluded graduate assistants from the definition of “public employee.” However, the courts found that this exclusion violated Florida’s Constitution. Currently, Florida law prohibits undergraduate students who work part-time at state universities from unionizing. The Northwestern decision could potentially strengthen the position of student athletes in Florida who are seeking to unionize. A former University of Houston soccer player, Samantha Sackos, is suing the NCAA and Division I schools, claiming that student athletes should be treated as employees and paid minimum wage. She says that athletes do work for the benefit of the schools just like work-study students do, and should be paid for it. According to a lawsuit, student athletes are arguing that they should be considered employees of their schools because they receive strict supervision and provide many benefits. The lawsuit cites a rule that says students who work at events or in food service are considered employees. It will be interesting to see if the court decides that student athletes should be considered employees under the law. This could affect both private and public colleges and universities. The potential changes to college athletics, such as recognizing athletes as employees, could have big consequences. It could lead to things like athletes being able to file discrimination charges and receive workers’ compensation if they get hurt. Some states are already trying to stop this from happening. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/student-athletes-as-employees/