It’s difficult to imagine a four month period more impactful for the NCAA, if not for intercollegiate athletics on the whole, than the one we’re currently in. From the Supreme Court’s decision in Alston in June 2021, to the...more
In a memorandum issued on January 31, 2017, the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel, Richard Griffin, provided a “guide for employers, labor unions, and employees that summarizes Board law regarding NLRA employee...more
GOP Reacts Swiftly to NLRB General Counsel’s Memorandum Regarding the Status of Division I Scholarship Football Players at Private Universities - In a memorandum dated January 31, 2017, National Labor Relations Board...more
Since 2014, the National Labor Relations Board has issued three significant decisions related to union organizing at private universities: Pacific Lutheran University; Columbia College; and Northwestern University. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a last minute attempt to leave his mark on the NLRB, the Board’s outgoing General Counsel issued a report attempting to expand the rights of university faculty and students, including scholarship...more
The National Labor Relations Board (Board) has voted 3-1 to reconsider whether graduate assistants at private, nonprofit higher education institutions are entitled to collective bargaining rights under the National Labor...more
A prior post considered the case of Ha v. Northwestern University, in which the plaintiff claimed that Northwestern had violated Title IX by insufficiently disciplining one of its professors, Peter Ludlow, despite concluding...more
In August, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or "the Board") unanimously ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to decide whether college football players at Northwestern University are "employees" under the National Labor...more
Depending on your allegiance, “the Play” was one of either the most memorable or the most infamous moments in the history of college football. It happened in the final seconds of 1982’s annual “Big Game” between the Stanford...more
In a long-awaited decision issued on August 17, 2015, the five-member National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) unanimously shut down an attempt by Northwestern University’s scholarship football players to become the first...more
The National Labor Relations Board announced on August 17, 2015 that it would not assert jurisdiction over Northwestern University’s scholarship football student-athletes in their bid to be recognized as “employees” and form...more
Last year, in what was lauded as a potentially game changing decision (pun intended), Peter Sung Ohr, the Regional Director of Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) ruled that the grant-in-aid...more
On Monday, the full National Labor Relations Board unanimously dismissed a petition by college football players at Northwestern who sought permission to unionize. This decision effectively overturned the regional director’s...more
In a mild surprise given the current constitution of the Board (read – majority appointed by President Obama), the NLRB declined to assert jurisdiction in ruling on the petition of Northwestern University’s scholarship...more
Yesterday, in a highly anticipated decision, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) declined to exercise jurisdiction over the College Athletes Players Association’s (CAPA) representation petition. CAPA asked the...more
On August 17, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board issued the long awaited decision in the Northwestern University football union case. 362 NLRB No. 167 (8/17/2015). In a rare display of unanimity, the five members of...more
Spring 2014 saw the first ever attempt to form a union among Division I college athletes, specifically the football team at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The National Labor Relation Board’s (“NLRB” or “Board”)...more
The recent decision in Ha v. Northwestern University, reiterates the leeway educational institutions have under Title IX when crafting a response to claims of sexual harassment. The plaintiff in Ha alleged that in February...more
The National Labor Relations Board’s treatment of college and university students as “employees” covered by the National Labor Relations Act has been the subject of a tortured history. In the Fall of 2000, in a case...more
While the Northwestern decision applies to private universities, there is a good chance that this rule would affect public universities as well. States have individual statutes and related administrative bodies that govern...more