A closely watched organizing drive involving Stanford University’s undergraduate residential student assistants may tee up two federal labor law issues private colleges and universities commonly face: when students qualify as “employees,” and how educational privacy laws may run into union election rules. On September 29, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declined Stanford’s request to pause a union election but partially granted the university’s request for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) relief. The order permits Stanford to withhold non-public information for any student who timely objects to an NLRB subpoena under FERPA. The Board will consider additional FERPA objections as part of Stanford’s forthcoming request for review. The case provides a high-profile example of how student privacy and labor law can collide, all while raising questions about the scope of the Board’s 2016 Columbia University decision that found certain student-workers were employees. Here’s everything your educational institution needs to know.
How We Got Here
A union representing student resident assistants (RAs) at Stanford University filed an election petition in May. Following a hearing, an NLRB Regional Director called for an election finding that the RAs are statutory employees under Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act.
The Regional Director determined that the student assistants were employees by pointing to the RAs’ $12,400 stipends, substantial...
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