College Athletes Ask Judge To Dismiss NCAA Appeal Effort in Class Action Over Employee Status

NCAA College Athlete Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: College athletes are asking a judge to dismiss efforts for appeal of a class action lawsuit they filed against the NCAA and collegiate universities. 
• Why: Athletes claim a precedent has been set that college athletes should be seen as employees and given at least minimum wage.
• Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in Pennsylvania federal court.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania is being asked to strike down the latest efforts of the NCAA and private universities’ to get out of a class action lawsuit arguing college athletes are entitled to earn at least minimum wage. 

The college athletes say the US Supreme Court and federal labor authorities have shown they are on their side and that an interlocutory appeal of an August ruling in their favor should be dismissed. 

The athletes cited the Supreme Court’s decision in a previous case and a recent memo issued by the National Labor Relations Board as precedent for why college athletes at private universities should be considered employees under federal labor laws. 

“(The Supreme Court and NLRB have) made it clear that the NCAA’s antiquated (and frankly, offensive) notion that it does not have to pay student-athletes despite making billions of dollars through their efforts is no longer legally permissible,” states the college athletes’ filing. 

NCAA, Universities Fight Claims That College Athletes Should Be Paid

The NCAA, along with co-defendants Fordham University, Cornell University, Lafayette College, Sacred Heart University, and Villanova University are seeking a review in the Third Circuit of the August order, which ruled athletes had plausibly alleged they were employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

The NCAA and universities are arguing there is enough precedent for differences of opinion that the current class action lawsuit should be put under review, however, athletes argue that, among other things, the memo released by the NLRB makes it clear what the current line of thinking is. 

“Given the fact that the definition of an “employee” is even broader under the FLSA than it is under the NLRB, this is merely further evidence that the Attended Schools’ arguments in support of an interlocutory appeal in this case are untenable” the NLRB said in its memo, according to the athlete’s filing. 

The universities have argued that the judge’s ruling presented a controlling question of law, however, athletes say the order went beyond a purely legal issue and is thus not worthy of appeal. 

Do you believe college athletes should be paid? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Paul L. McDonald of P.L. McDonald Law LLC, and Michael J. Willemin, Renan F. Varghese, and Taylor J. Crabill of Wigdor LLP. 

The NCAA College Athlete Employee Class Action Lawsuit is Johnson, et al. v. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-05230, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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