In a recent ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, they refused to accept an attempt by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) to prevent college athletes from being considered employees protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While this ruling does not say that college athletes are considered employees, it also failed to say they certainly were not. This is important as it leaves open the door for college athletes to potentially gain employment protections in the future.
What is This Case About?
In this lawsuit, college athletes playing under the NCAA sued both the NCAA and their colleges for allegedly misclassifying them as student athletes rather than employees. They alleged that the NCAA was profiting off of their labor without giving them appropriate compensation, using their status as student athletes to justify not paying them. In addition, due to being considered student athletes, they were not afforded protections if they were ever injured and left unable to play, in some cases losing their scholarships in the process.
What Are the Issues At Stake?
The primary question before the Third Circuit was if college athletes were precluded from obtaining protections as employees under the NLRA. Generally speaking, student athletes are not considered employees and are thus not protected by the NLRA, including its minimum wage or overtime requirements. If they were considered employees, the NCAA would be forced to compensate them as paid workers, which would be extremely costly.
How Did They Rule?
In a narrow ruling, the Third Circuit refused to accept the NCAA’s argument that college athletes are precluded from obtaining NLRA protections. Under certain circumstances, they ruled, these athletes would be entitled to employment protections. However, the question as to whether they qualified for those protections was left to the lower court, which now must assess if the NCAA college athletes meet those criteria.
Why Does it Matter?
This is important because, while the NCAA makes billions of dollars a year, essentially none of that money goes to the athletes themselves. Generally speaking, the only compensation they receive for playing for their team is free tuition, which is remarkably less than the value they would receive if they played sports professionally, despite performing essentially the same tasks as a professional athlete. If they received classification as employees, it would dramatically improve their economic situation, and entitle them to worker protections they otherwise lack.
If you have an employment issue, give the Law Office of Andrew Ross Sack a call. Andrew Ross Sack is a New York and New Jersey employment lawyer who has considerable experience in handling the many aspects of labor and employment law. To schedule a consultation with New York City/Long Island/Westchester employment lawyer Andrew Ross Sack, call (516) 526-3319 or visit his contact page.
