Insights on Higher Education

On January 31, 2017, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board released an official memorandum declaring that scholarship football players at some of the most elite college programs are employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

Ever since football players at Northwestern University sought union certification in January 2014, their case has been closely watched by many in both the labor and sports arenas.

On December 30, 2014, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R), signed Public Law 414 into law, which excludes college athletes from the definition of “public employees” who are entitled to collectively bargain in Michigan.

It is unlikely that any ruling by a Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ever sparked such nationwide commentary as that of Region 13 Regional Director Peter Sung Ohr in ruling that Northwestern University scholarship football players are “employees” of the University.

On January 28, 2014, the National College Players Association (NCPA) filed a petition at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Chicago, seeking recognition as a labor union. The petition is the first of its kind seeking union recognition for college athletes.