On Wednesday, Jennifer Abruzzo, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board released a memo arguing that certain college athletes can be considered employees under the National Labor Relations Act and therefore, are workers eligible to unionize.

"Under common law, an employee includes a person 'who perform[s] services for another and [is] subject to the other's control or right of control,'" she writes.

The memo specifically addresses a case in which Northwestern University football players sought union representation; their petition was dismissed by the NLRB in 2015. Abruzzo mentions the decision and argues that "certain Players at Academic Institutions are employees under the Act and are entitled to be protected from retaliation when exercising their Section 7 rights."

Section 7 of the NLRA guarantees employees "the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection," as well as the right "to refrain from any or all such activities."

Abruzzo's memo also reveals that she will pursue action against schools that "misclassify" players as "student-athletes," on the grounds that it creates a "chilling effect" that discourages them from asserting their rights