In today’s news and commentary, House Republicans push to increase NIL profits for student athletes while restricting their employment status, Wells Fargo gets its 401(k) forfeiture appeal tossed on standing, and Georgia allows gig worker benefit funds without forfeiting independent contractor status.
Next week, House Republicans anticipate a floor vote on H.R. 4312, the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, which would codify rules for college players’ ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The bill prevents the NCAA and schools from restricting student athletes from entering NIL deals, in exchange for limited antitrust liability protection for the NCAA and solidification of student athletes’ non-employee status. If passed, the bill would seemingly settle the question left open in the NLRB’s 2015 Northwestern University decision, where the Board declined to exercise jurisdiction without ruling on whether the players were employees. Six years later, then-NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo (rescinded in 2025) taking the position that players at academic institutions are employees under the NLRA, as reported previously by Benjamin and Fred. The bill would also require schools to provide medical care, mental health services, and academic support to athletes. House Republicans failed to bring the SCORE Act to a vote last December after several party members publicly opposed it.
Yesterday,...
Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for relying on claims by United States President Donald Trump regarding the reported killing of senior Islamic ...