The Trump Administration's acting general counsel at the National Labor Relations Board has rescinded a Biden-era memo that recognized college student-athletes as employees of their school's under the NLRB Act.
Friday’s memorandum from the Trump administration’s acting general counsel, William B. Cowen, rescinded an array of memoranda that had been issued by former general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, including the one from September 2021 that was accompanied by a statement from Abruzzo in which she wrote:
College athletes “perform services for institutions in return for compensation and (are) subject to their control.
"Thus, the broad language of … the Act, the policies underlying the NLRA, Board law, and the common law fully support the conclusion that certain (college athletes) are statutory employees, who have the right to act collectively to improve their terms and conditions of employment."
The NCAA, conferences and universities have long pursue federal legislation that would prevent college athletes from becoming employees, but they have not been successful in achieving that goal.
In a memo of his own, Cowen said that he was reviewing all decisions issued by Abruzzo in hopes of alleviating some of the backlog at the board.
“Over the past few years, our dedicated and talented staff have worked diligently to process an ever-increasing workload," Cowen wrote in his memo. "Notwithstanding these efforts, we have seen our backlog of cases grow to the point where it is no longer sustainable. The unfortunate truth is that if we attempt to accomplish everything, we risk accomplishing nothing.
“Since assuming the role of Acting General Counsel, working with experienced field and headquarters professionals, I have conducted a comprehensive review of active General Counsel Memoranda and determined that the following actions are warranted,” including the rescinding of the college-athlete memo.
