Student athletes continue to push to be included in an expansive definition of "employee"—and thus be entitled to compensation. So far, though, they haven't been successful.

A former linebacker for the University of Southern California (USC) filed a class-action lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for alleged minimum-wage and overtime violations. Besides Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations, Lamar Dawson also claimed violations of California's Labor Code. The lawsuit named as a co-defendant the Pac-12 Conference, to which USC belongs.

According to the lawsuit, the NCAA and the Pac-12 failed to pay student athletes minimum wage and overtime as required by the FLSA and California law. The organizations, which the lawsuit claims are joint employers, also exercised a high degree of control in the players' on- and off-campus activities and restricted the players' ability to earn compensation. Read More