Iowa lawmakers have expanded on federal efforts to make student-athletes employees. They have introduced legislation (H.F. 2055) to classify intercollegiate athletes at Iowa’s state universities as state employees. This follows a year in which numerous state legislative efforts established name, image, and likeness rights for student-athletes and federal court decisions further impacted student-athletes’ rights.

The bill also would allow the Iowa state board of regents to fix athlete compensation in the same way it sets compensation for school presidents and other state employees.

The bill was introduced by Representative Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines), the ranking member of the Iowa House Labor Committee.

If approved, the bill would apply to athletes at Iowa’s three public universities (University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa, and Iowa State University), which all compete at the NCAA Division I level. None of the athletes at Iowa’s private institutions (12 of which compete across the NCAA’s three divisions) would be impacted and these student-athletes would not be considered employees of their schools under the terms of the bill.

The proposed Iowa legislation is consistent with the goals announced at the federal level by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo in her September 28, 2021, memorandum.

She stated that, based on her interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), certain student-athletes are employees of their...

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