Court To Decide Whether NCAA D1 Athletes Should Be Granted Employee Status

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D1 NCAA Athletes Employees Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: The Third Circuit is discussing a class action lawsuit filed by current and former Division 1 college athletes against The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 
• Why: D1 NCAA athletes argue they should be considered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Where: The class action lawsuit is in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

A class action lawsuit aimed at determining whether NCAA collegiate athletes should be considered employees has found itself in the Third Circuit. 

A group of current and former Division 1 athletes filed a class action lawsuit against the NCAA and several Division 2 schools in 2019, arguing they should be considered employees and provided with minimum wage and overtime pay, Law360 reports.

A federal judge has previously sided with the athletes, who have made their claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), by ruling the NCAA has not shown the athletes are not employees. 

The Division 2 schools would appeal the ruling, with athletes opposing the appeal, Law360 reports. 

Athletes argued the previous case cited by schools to show they don’t qualify as employees was both out of date and out of circuit given a Supreme Court decision in June to erase limits on education-related compensation they can receive. 

The Third Circuit is now set to determine whether district courts should apply what would be multifactor testing to determine if D1 athletes would be considered employees under the FLSA, Law360 reports. 

NCAA, Players Want Third Circuit To Answer Different Questions

The two sides want the appeals court to answer different questions, however, with the NCAA requesting it to determine whether the association could possibly be considered a joint employer for the student athletes. 

Players, on the other hand, want the Third Circuit to determine whether or not playing NCAA D1 sports would be considered self-defined amateurism that would automatically exempt them from FLSA coverage, Law360 reports.

The Third Circuit said in its order that it will consider “whether NCAA Division I student athletes can be employees of the colleges and universities they attend for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act solely by virtue of their participation in interscholastic athletics.” 

Last month, athletes implored a federal judge to reject another attempt by the NCAA to have the complaint dismissed, arguing it already has had its chance to do so.

Do you think college athletes should be considered employees and provided with minimum wage and overtime pay? Let us know in the comments! 

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

The D1 NCAA Athletes Employees 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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