Complaint Filed Against Notre Dame With National Labor Relations Board

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 02: Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick (L) and Special Assistant to the President for Athletics Pete Bevacqua of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish look on prior to the game against the Tennessee State Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium on September 02, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Michael Reaves/Getty Images

A complaint against Notre Dame has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The claim, which is similar to ones filed for multiple schools, including USC, alleges that Notre Dame has misclassified its athletes as “student-athletes” rather than employees of the school.

It is the latest attempt in a push to get athletes categorized as university employees.

“The complaint was filed by former Minnesota regent [Michael D. H. Hsu], who has filed several other complaints with the NLRB attempting to get college athletes to be classified as employees. (Notably one against Northwestern, and another against the entire Ivy League.),” said Front Office Sports’ Amanda Christovich.

“Hsu tells me that the strategy is related to the “joint-employer” doctrine, which means that if you can prove multiple entities (like the NCAA and a school) are employers, then you can grant jurisdiction to public school athletes.”

Hearings for the USC complaint–which listed the university, the NCAA and the Pac-12 Conference as witnesses–resumed this week. Once testimony is complete, a judge’s ruling could take several months.

In an unrelated case, the Dartmouth men’s basketball team petitioned the NLRB to hold a union vote back in February. After an NLRB director ruled the players were employees, they voted 13-2 to establish a union, but the university responded by saying it would not enter into collective bargaining with the group.

It is possible the could wind up in federal court.