NLRA, Northwestern University

Are Your Academic Institution’s Athletes “Employees” Under NLRA? The NLRB General Counsel Thinks So.

Snell & Wilmer on 11/10/2021

On September 29, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel, Jennifer A. Abruzzo, released Memorandum GC 21-08 (the “GC Memo”) issuing guidance on her position that certain “Players at Academic...more

Out with student-athletes, long live Players at Academic Institutions

Bricker Graydon LLP on 10/12/2021

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

NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo Issues Memo on Employee Status of Players at Academic Institutions

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC on 9/30/2021

The General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), who has authority for setting prosecutorial policy for the NLRB, issued a General Counsel Memorandum (GC Memo) today, reversing the prior Board...more

NLRB General Counsel Takes a Stand: College Scholarship Football Players Are Employees Under the NLRA

McGuireWoods LLP on 4/12/2017

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

March Inevitableness? Considering the Legal Consequences of Pay to Student-Athletes

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 3/16/2017

As of this writing, it has been over 850 days since the UConn women’s basketball team has lost a game. When the Huskies last tasted defeat (in an overtime thriller to Stanford on November 17, 2014), football players at...more

Will the New Administration Trump Columbia University?

Saul Ewing LLP on 2/14/2017

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

NLRB General Counsel Looks to Expand Reach of Federal Labor Law to Private Colleges and Universities; Believes that Scholarship...

Franczek P.C. on 2/10/2017

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

NLRB General Counsel Takes a Bold Stance on Student Athletes

Cozen O'Connor on 2/7/2017

More than a year and a half after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) ruled that Northwestern University’s football players could not form a union, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin announced his...more

NLRB General Counsel Issues Report on NLRA Protections For Faculty and Students

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 2/2/2017

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

NLRB Takeaway: Comply, Even if You Think You Don’t Have To

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP on 11/2/2016

The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board issued a recent Advice Memorandum in Northwestern University, NLRB Case 13-CA-157467, with a strange, but practical, takeaway for employers: even if you don’t think...more

NLRB Gives It the Old College Try – Again Hints that Athletes May Indeed Be Employees

Ruder Ware on 10/24/2016

Labor and employment practitioners will undoubtedly recall the NLRB’s well-publicized foray last year into the ongoing public debate surrounding whether certain college athletes should be considered compensated...more

NLRB Moves Closer to Finding that Scholarship Student-Athletes are Employees

Franczek P.C. on 10/13/2016

On September 22, 2016, the Associate General Counsel (“AGC”) for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB,” or the “Board”) issued an Advice Memorandum indicating that a number of policies in the Northwestern University...more

Don’t Believe Everything You Read: Labor Board Has Not Ruled College Athletes Are Employees (Yet)

Fisher Phillips on 10/12/2016

ESPN recently reported that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had “ruled” that Northwestern University’s football players were actually “employees,” and that the University’s policing of its football players’ social...more

Another Loss for the Claim That College Athletes Are Employees

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and... on 3/7/2016

Last year the National Labor Relations Board ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to consider a petition by undergraduate football players at Northwestern University for recognition of a union and collective bargaining...more

The National Labor Relations Board 2015 Year in Review - An Overview of Major Developments in Labor Law

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 2/4/2016

To mark the 80th birthday of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board apparently decided to make history in 2015. The Board did just that, issuing several ground breaking decisions, and in the...more

NLRB to Review Graduate Assistants’ Petition for Representation

Ballard Spahr LLP on 10/28/2015

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

NLRB Ruling on Northwestern Football Players Highlights Need for Congressional Action on College Sports

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 9/23/2015

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

Executive Labor Summary - July / August 2015

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 8/28/2015

Quickie elections seem here to stay, but Senate Republicans aren’t giving up. On July 29, the National Labor Relations Board won another challenge to its “quickie election” rules pursued by employer groups. This time, Judge...more

NLRB Decision on Student-Athlete Unionization a Win for Colleges, But Title IX Still in Play

Holland & Knight LLP on 8/26/2015

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a unanimous decision on Aug. 17, 2015, dismissing a petition filed by Northwestern University scholarship football players seeking to unionize under the National Labor...more

NLRB Punts on First Down: Declines to Exercise Jurisdiction in Northwestern University Football Players Union Representation Case

Troutman Pepper on 8/20/2015

The NLRB’s decision is limited to the facts presented by the Northwestern case, and the Board may assert jurisdiction in another case involving scholarship athletes at a later date. On August 17th, the National Labor...more

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