NCAA Denied Appeal in College Athlete Employee Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Thursday affirmed the dismissal of the NCAA’s motion to dismiss Johnson v. NCAA, a case where college athletes argue they are employees of their schools and the NCAA within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws.

In doing so, the Third Circuit rejected the NCAA’s longstanding position that college athletes cannot be employees and athletes at the same time—an edict with major consequences for college sports in America.

More from Sportico.com

At the same time, the Third Circuit ordered the district court to apply a different test to assess the athletes’ employment.

If the players are deemed to be FLSA employees, they’d be owed at least minimum wage for their labor and would be eligible for overtime pay. Johnson could lead to the NCAA and colleges being ordered to pay many millions of dollars in unpaid wages and forced to amend amateurism rules to recognize an employee-employer relationship.

The case is led by former Villanova football player Ralph “Trey” Johnson and other current and former athletes representing more than a dozen Division I schools including Duke, Oregon, Arizona and Purdue. They maintain they meet the applicable legal test for employment, given their work for the school is separate from their studies and given the control schools have over their time and labor.

The NCAA as a joint employer is based on the idea that colleges follow workplace rules set by the NCAA, which also enforces those rules. The players contend they should be compensated at least akin to how work study classmates are compensated—some of whom work at concession stands and ticket gates at games where the athletes aren’t paid. As a joint employer, the NCAA would be responsible to pay the athletes if the colleges do not do so. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Paul McDonald, elaborated on these points in a recent Sportico video interview.

In February 2023, Third Circuit Judges Theodore McKee, David Porter…

Source link : https://www.yahoo.com/news/ncaa-denied-appeal-college-athlete-170206846.html

Author : Sportico

Publish date : 2024-07-11 17:02:06

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.