College Athlete Right to Organize Act

Sponsor: Summer L. Lee (Democratic-PA)July 23, 2025

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

College athletes would gain the right to form unions and negotiate their pay and working conditions.

This bill would let college athletes who receive financial aid form unions and bargain for better pay and safer conditions. It would change federal labor law to recognize these athletes as employees, giving them similar rights to professional athletes. This means colleges, including public ones, would have to negotiate with athlete representatives.

What Would Change

Today, college athletes are generally not considered employees and cannot collectively bargain for their terms of participation. If this bill passes, college athletes who receive direct compensation, like scholarships, would be recognized as employees under federal law. This would allow them to form unions and negotiate with their institutions and athletic conferences over issues like pay, health, and safety.

Key Provisions

Lets college athletes who get financial aid be considered employees under federal labor law.
Requires public colleges to be treated as employers for their athletes.
Gives the National Labor Relations Board power over college athlete union matters.
Allows college athletes in the same athletic conference to form larger bargaining groups if their representatives agree.
Blocks colleges from making athletes sign away their new bargaining rights.
Clarifies that becoming an employee for bargaining purposes would not automatically change how their financial aid is taxed or affects other federal aid.

View on Congress.gov

HR 4693 · 119th Congress · July 23, 2025 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 10/10

Lobbying Activity

7 filings mentioned this bill

Top Lobbying Clients

BIG 12 CONFERENCE

$80K

2 filings

NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK COMMITTEE

3 filings

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

2 filings

Top Lobbying Firms

1.THE NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK COMMITTEE3 filings

2.KIT BOND STRATEGIES2 filings

3.AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS2 filings

Amounts reflect total quarterly lobbying spend reported to the Senate, not bill-specific spending. Source: Senate LDA filings.

7 filings mentioned this bill

Top Lobbying Clients

BIG 12 CONFERENCE

$80K

2 filings

NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK COMMITTEE

3 filings

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

2 filings

Top Lobbying Firms

1.THE NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK COMMITTEE3 filings

2.KIT BOND STRATEGIES2 filings

3.AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS2 filings

Amounts reflect total quarterly lobbying spend reported to the Senate, not bill-specific spending. Source: Senate LDA filings.