Jul 15, 2017 2 min read

A National Labor Relations Board ruling could have a dramatic effect for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and its officials.

The NLRB ruled this week that lacrosse officials who are sent to public and private school games in Western Pennsylvania are employees of a state athletic association, not independent contractors.

The 2-1 result means the Professional Employees International Union can represent approximately 140 officials who work high school and junior high school in the Pittsburgh area.

The ramifications of this decision could be felt across the country as all 50 states have governing bodies similar to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

The NLRB’s decision clears the way for negotiations between the represented referees and the PIAA based on a vote that favored the union. It also makes way for union organizing for referees providing services under the oversight of those governing bodies across the country.

The NLRB votes were along party lines with Democratic members Mark Gaston Pearce and Lauren McFerrin finding “employee” status over the strong dissent of Republican chairman Philip Miscimarra.

The PIAA’s constitution gives it broad authority to set policies and procedures for selecting and referring officials to local schools, Gaston Pearce and McFerran said. Referees are screened, tested, and trained before they can officiate at public and private school games, and they must complete annual training to remain eligible for assignments, the board members found.

The association does not have supervisors physically present at lacrosse games, but Pearce and McFerran said that lack of direct supervision “reflects the nature of officiating, rather than suggesting independent-contractor status.”

Miscimarra said there is no evidence the PIAA has ever disciplined a lacrosse official. The PIAA does not review officials’ individual game calls or their overall performance, but relies on evaluations completed by school lacrosse coaches.

Miscimarra argued Pearce and McFerran didn’t consider “the near-total absence of oversight and supervision” of the lacrosse officials. The board should have reviewed and considered the PIAA’s argument the officials are independent contractors, he said.

Miscimarra pointed out that the referees had their fees paid by the schools, not the PIAA, so no tax withholdings were applied to the fees paid. He felt the NLRB majority also discounted the fact that working single games were more akin to short-term assignments, an incident of independent contractor status.

The PIAA is expected to appeal the decision.