D.C. Circuit Opinion Rules That Lacrosse Officials in Pennsylvania Are Independent Contractors

The D.C. Circuit ruled on June 14, 2019, that lacrosse officials working for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) are independent contractors and not employees. This ruling deems the officials ineligible to organize under the National Labor Relations Act, according to an opinion filed by Circuit Judge Thomas B. Griffith last Friday. Despite the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) agreeing to declare the workers “employees” under their own standards, a three-judge D.C. Circuit panel determined that the NLRB did not account for the infrequency …

May 14, 2014 High School

Overbearing Sports Dad or Racketeering Lacrosse Coaches?

Not a question one frequently has occasion to ask. Earlier this year, the father of a high school lacrosse player in Texas filed a RICO suit in federal court over what he describes as a “pay-for-play” scheme at some of the state’s premier high school lacrosse programs. (It’s literally the father who filed suit as he is a lawyer and one of the plaintiffs, along with his wife and son, and his firm is the plaintiffs’ counsel.) This suit follows a similar state court suit …