,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bdfi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bh1 #bjbe,mr4 ,murphy 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,warren1 and ,mr4 ,sanders7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to establish collective bargaining rights for college athletes1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,college ,athlete ,right to ,organize ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq47 seeks to remedy the inequality of bargaining power between employees and employers primarily through establishing and protecting the rights of employees to self-organize and designate representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection4 7#b7 ,labor organizations often originate to remedy unfair and exploitative labor practices by employers through assisting employees in securing more equitable terms and conditions of their employment1 including fair compensation and safe working conditions1 which individual employees would be unlikely to negotiate successfully for on their own4 7#c7 ,labor organizations serve unique and essential purposes for professional athletes competing in sports leagues1 where it is desirable to establish uniform rules and standards across multiple employers4 ,these rules and standards bear significant consequences to the athletes in terms of compensation1 health and safety1 and the ability or lack thereof for athletes to choose their employer1 among other issues related to the athletes' well-being4 7#d7 ,the formation of labor organizations representing athletes in professional sports leagues in the ,united ,states has helped end exploitative practices by team owners and management1 particularly through establishing collective-bargaining agreements that have secured athletes a fair share of the revenues their talent and labor produces1 as well as more equitable terms of their employment and protections for their short- and long-term health4 7#e7 ,college athletes face exploitative and unfair labor practices by the ,national ,collegiate ,athletic ,association 7referred to in this section as the ,,ncaa7 and its member institutions1 primarily through the denial of the basic economic and labor rights of such athletes1 which the ,,ncaa and its member institutions have justified by defining college athletes as amateurs4 7#f7 ,the ,,ncaa and its member institutions have denied college athletes a fair wage for their labor by colluding to cap compensation2 they maintain strict and exacting control over the terms and conditions of college athletes' labor2 and they exercise the ability to terminate an athlete's eligibility to compete if the athlete violates these terms and conditions4 7#g7 ,college athletes exhibit the markers of employment as established under the common law definition of the term employee3 ,they perform a valuable service for their respective colleges under a contract for hire in the form of grant-in-aid agreements2 these agreements assert significant control over how athletes perform their work and the conditions under which they work2 and they receive compensation in the form of grant-in-aid and stipends in exchange for their athletic services4 7#h7 ,to establish more equitable terms and conditions for college athletes' labor1 college athletes need representation of their own choosing to negotiate collective-bargaining agreements with their respective colleges and the athletic conferences that help set rules and standards across an entire league4 7#i7 ,to organize effectively1 college athletes must be able to form collective bargaining units across institutions of higher education that compete against each other1 including within athletic conferences2 and1 accordingly1 to establish effective collective bargaining rights for college athletes under this ,act1 the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act must be amended to cover both private and public institutions of higher education to the extent that college athletes attending such institutions fall within the definition of employee under that ,act1 as amended by this ,act4 7#aj7 ,the ,constitution of the ,united ,states vests ,congress with the power to regulate commerce between the ,states1 and intercollegiate sports1 which are maintained by athletic associations that host competitions between colleges across ,states1 involves interstate commerce that generates annual revenue of more than #ae1jjj1jjj1jjj4 7#aa7 ,intercollegiate sports' significant engagement in interstate commerce justifies application of the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq47 to regulate the labor market within which public and private institutions of higher education compete and set rules pertaining to the wages and working conditions of college athletes4 #c4 ,collective bargaining rights of college athletes 7a7 ,definitions ,section #b of the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aeb7 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#b71 by adding at the end the following3 ,notwithstanding the previous sentence1 the term employer includes a public institution of higher education with respect to the employment of college athlete employees of the institution42 7#b7 in paragraph 7#c71 by adding at the end the following3 8,any individual who participates in an intercollegiate sport for an institution of higher education1 and is a student enrolled in the institution of higher education1 shall be considered an employee of the institution of higher education if-- 7,a7 the individual receives any form of direct compensation1 including grant-in-aid1 from the institution of higher education2 and 7,b7 any terms or conditions of such compensation require participation in an intercollegiate sport4 2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7#ae7 ,the term grant-in-aid means a scholarship1 grant1 or other form of financial assistance that is provided by an institution of higher education to an individual for the individual's undergraduate or graduate course of study4 7#af7 ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section #ajb of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb74 7#ag7 ,the term intercollegiate athletic conference-- 7,a7 means any conference1 or other group or organization1 of institutions of higher education that-- 7i7 exercises authority over intercollegiate sports at such institutions of higher education2 and 7ii7 is engaged in commerce or an industry or activity affecting commerce2 and 7,b7 notwithstanding subparagraph 7,a71 does not include the ,national ,collegiate ,athletic ,association4 7#ah7 ,the term college athlete employee means an individual described in the second sentence of paragraph 7#c74 4 7b7 ,multiemployer bargaining unit ,section #i7;b7 of the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aei7;b77 is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting the following3 3 ,provided1 ,that1 for the purpose of establishing an appropriate bargaining unit for college athlete employees at institutions of higher education in an intercollegiate athletic conference1 the ,board shall recognize multiple institutions of higher education within an intercollegiate athletic conference as a multiemployer bargaining unit1 but only if consented to by the employee representatives for the intercollegiate sports bargaining units at the institutions of higher education that will be included in the multiemployer bargaining unit44 7c7 ,jurisdiction related to intercollegiate sports ,section #ad7;c77#a7 of the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #afd7;c77#a77 is amended by striking ,provided1 and inserting the following3 ,provided1 ,that the ,board shall exercise jurisdiction over institutions of higher education and college athlete employees of such institutions in relation to all collective bargaining matters under this ,act pertaining to such employees1 including any representation matter1 such as recognizing or establishing a bargaining unit for such employees and any labor dispute involving such institutions and employees3 ,provided further14 7d7 ,prohibition on waiver ,an individual may not enter into any agreement 7including an agreement for grant-in-aid1 as defined in section #b7ae7 of the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aeb7ae777 or legal settlement that waives or permits noncompliance with this ,act or the amendments made by this ,act4 #d4 ,treatment of direct compensation for tax purposes and eligibility for ,federal financial assistance ,nothing in this ,act1 or an amendment made by this ,act1 shall-- 7#a7 cause any type of direct compensation described in section #b7c7 of the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aeb7c77 that was not previously treated as income for which a tax may be imposed under the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to become a type of direct compensation for which such a tax may be imposed2 7#b7 cause any individual to be treated as an employee1 or cause any amounts received by an individual to be treated as wages1 for purposes of any provision in the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf relating to employment taxes or the withholding of taxes by an employer if such individual or amounts would not otherwise be so treated2 7#c7 affect the treatment of qualified scholarships under section #aag of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 or 7#d7 otherwise affect the treatment of any direct compensation described in such section #b7c7 in determining income1 including gross income or adjusted gross income1 for purposes of-- 7,a7 the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 including any reporting requirements under such ,code2 or 7,b7 determining eligibility for any form of ,federal financial assistance1 including assistance under subpart #a of part ,a of title ,,iv of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj;a et seq474 #e4 ,severability ,if any provision of this ,act1 an amendment made by this ,act1 or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional1 the remainder of this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act1 and the application of the provision or amendment to any other person or circumstance1 shall not be affected4