Marshall Babson and Bradford Livingston Quoted on HR.com
"Couple of labor lawyers diagram moves by NBA players in antitrust suit"

Seyfarth Shaw Labor & Employment partners Marshall Babson and Bradford Livingston were quoted on HR.com in an article describing the motives behind the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) lawsuit.

Marshall and Brad point out a risky move the players are making, noting that the NBPA disclaimed interest in representing the NBA players in hopes of creating distance from the terms of negotiations that could exist in a collective bargaining agreement between the players and the owners.

"By allegedly disclaiming interest," they wrote, "The NBPA and players hope to pressure the team owners by use of federal antitrust laws. Because of a doctrine known as the 'non-statutory labor exemption,' the terms of a CBA—including one that 'fixes' wages and other terms of employment among multiple individual employers—are immunized from antitrust claims. That's true even in the absence of a current collective bargaining agreement, as long as a bargaining relationship still exists. Therefore, with the alleged disclaimer of interest by the NBPA, the 'non-union' players believe they are free to attack the owners for antitrust violations."

Please click here to read the full article: http://www.hr.com/en/communities/couple-of-labor-lawyers-diagram-moves-by-nba-playe_gvdv2ib6.html