Policy Matters Podcast - Episode 22: Student-Athletes Running into the NLRB

Policy issues often have long term widespread and pervasive impact on businesses. Not only can new governmental policies significantly affect the climate for business innovation and growth, they create precedents that affect future legislation and potentially spread across jurisdictions.

Each installment of the Policy Matters Podcast will provide timely updates regarding potential adverse impacts on benefits that policy changes can have on industry growth and offer a preview of what’s next in the competitive marketplace.

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Episode 22: Student-Athletes Running into the NLRB

In this episode, Scott Mallery, Counsel in the Labor and Employment Department of Seyfarth’s Sacramento office, and Chuck Guzak, Associate in the Labor and Employment Department of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, discuss the recent memorandum released by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo regarding her position that certain college athletes are employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

With the recent changes in NCAA rules and state laws on athletes’ ability to profit off of their names, images, and likenesses as a backdrop, the Policy Matters podcast team discusses the legal history of colleges and universities under the National Labor Relations Act, the Supreme Court’s recent case striking down NCAA restrictions on educational benefits, and what GC Abruzzo’s recent memorandum could mean for the future of college sports.