House bills prevent university athletes from becoming employees

Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), one of the House’s highest-ranking Republicans, said Tuesday that she introduced a bill that would prevent university athletes from becoming employees of schools, conferences or athletic associations.

McLain said this during hearings between the School Board and the Workforce Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee. The hearings were about the university’s sports, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the impact that athletes could become school employees.

McLain is the current chair of the House Republican Conference, and she makes her the fourth-ranked member of the GOP in the House. As Tuesday’s hearing concluded, subcommittee chair Rick Allen (R-Ga.), said: “I hope that our committee colleagues will take part in this effort…”

The release from McClain’s office after the hearing included a statement from Full Committee Chairman Tim Wahlberg (R-Mich.), who supported the law.

This bill comes as US District Judge Claudia Wilken places emphasis on final approval of the proposed settlement of three athlete prevention lawsuits. It is also featured in the NCAA lobbying activities and the ongoing lobbying of the University Conference for National Law, which ensures athletes do not become school employees. Create a national framework for athlete activities and make money from names, images and likeness. Allows associations and schools to at least some degree of protection from the antitrust laws.

Power For Conference and school staff and athletes are scheduled to spend Wednesday as Washington state lawmakers’ offices are being billed as “Hill College Sports Day.”

McClain’s narrowly drawn bill looks similar to what the Education Workforce Committee passed by a partisan vote last June. The measure did not receive a vote on the House floor. It was against the backdrop of the NLRB becoming receptive to the idea of ​​university athletes as school employees during the Biden administration.

Following the complaints filed on behalf of athletes, the NLRB pursued cases involving the University of Southern California and Dartmouth University. These efforts were abandoned in late 2024. Biden’s presidency was over, and the athlete group feared that it could have been a precedent-setting ruling against them by the full NLRB under the next Trump administration.

The Trump administration officially overturned the NLRB’s position on the February issue.

The title of McClain’s bill protects the 2025 Economic Freedom Act, “Protecting Student Athletes.” ” The four-page text contains only one surgical paragraph, with the rest dedicated to the definition of the terms used in that paragraph.

Furthermore, efforts are underway towards a more comprehensive legislation. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who currently chairs the Commerce Committee, continues to work since August 2023 from draft discussions on the bill.