April 2014

Not to be outdone by its neighbors to the north–Portland and Seattle–Eugene, Oregon appears poised to become the next jurisdiction to pass an ordinance requiring employers to provide employees working within city limits with paid sick leave. A coalition of pro-sick leave advocacy groups, including Portland-based Family Forward, first brought the topic before the council in

The NLRB’s Regional Director in Chicago issued a decision on March 26 in 13-RC-121359 finding the football players at Northwestern University are employees under the NLRA, over the objections of the University. The Regional Director rejected the University’s arguments that the players, who receive “grant-in-aid scholarships” from the University, are more akin to graduate students, held by the Board not to be employees in Brown University, 342 NLRB 483 (2004). The Director also rejected the University’s argument that the players were “temporary employees” who were not eligible for collective bargaining. 

Northwestern’s varsity football team consists of 112 players, 85 of whom receive scholarships that pay for their tuition, fees, room, board, and books in the amount of $61,000 per year ($76,000 per year if they take summer classes). The players receive a “tender” letter at the beginning of their football career that describes the terms and conditions of the offer; are subject to certain rules of conduct; and spend 20-25 hours a week in mandatory activities in the off-season, 40-50 hours per week during the season, and 50-60 hours per week during training camp. The Director found that the players performed “services” for the University that generated revenues of approximately $235 million during the nine-year period of 2003-2012 through the team’s participation in the NCAA Division I and Big Ten Conference through ticket sales, television contracts, merchandise sales, and licensing agreements.Continue Reading College Football Players Are Employees? Who’s Next?