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Labor relations board files complaint against USC over athlete compensation

May 18, 2023 GMT

FILE- In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, a PAC-12 logo is displayed on the field before an NCAA college football game between Washington State and Oregon in Eugene, Ore. The Pac-12 will provide more access to players and coaches during broadcasts of football games next season, including in-game coaches interviews and halftime camera access. The changes will be implemented throughout football broadcasts on ESPN, Fox Sports and the Pac-12 Networks. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang, File)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board has filed a formal complaint against Southern California, the Pac-12 and the NCAA alleging misclassification of college athletes as “student-athletes” instead of employees.

The complaint Thursday by the NLRB’s Los Angeles office seeks an order requiring USC, the Pac-12 and NCAA to reclassify football and basketball players as employees instead of student-athletes in their handbooks and rules.

It was based on a complaint by the National College Players Association to the Department of Justice filed in December that accused the NCAA of violating antitrust laws by capping compensation to athletes.

It called all three entities joint employers of college athletes and said the misclassification intentionally deprives athletes of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

USC, the Pac-12 and the NCAA must file a response to the complaint by June 1 and a hearing before an administrative law judge has been set for Nov. 7.

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