On April 20 of this year, Leslie Smith was scheduled to fight Aspen Ladd at UFC Atlantic City. Then the weigh-ins came. Ladd did not make weight and Smith was offered several thousand dollars in compensation to overlook that indiscretion and fight. Smith declined and instead, indicated to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that she would like her purse because she had met all of her obligations. She got it. Then…she said she wouldn’t fight. Obviously, this did not sit well with the UFC, which paid her purse and then elected to part ways with Smith shortly thereafter. Smith felt that she was unfairly targeted because she was pursuing efforts to have fighters unionize. That’s not allowed under the law. So, what did she do and how does the process work?
Basically, the federal government has set up an independent agency to deal with these complaints prior to letting them into court, presumably to reduce court filings without merit. That agency is called the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). Once a charge is filed, the NLRB will conduct an investigation. In the course of that investigation, the NLRB will request the production of documents and other evidentiary materials. Again, this process is not governed in court, so the rules of evidence and other legal standards are strongly relaxed, so as to ensure a more efficient process.
If the NLRB dictates that there is sufficient merit warranted to possibly punish a company for its wrongful acts, the opposing party may respond and an administrative hearing may be held. Again, the parties do not appear in court, but the agency still has jurisdiction to impose discipline. If the UFC is deemed to have engaged in unlawful employment practices, that decision would not only mean that Leslie Smith would likely benefit. At that point, there could be a finding that UFC fighters are employees, which would potentially expose the company on a much larger scale, legally speaking. For now, it seems that the regional office of the NLRB where Smith filed her complaint had granted it merit. Then it was overruled by the national office, which will further investigate before making any determination.
It’ll be interesting to see how this process unfolds and most importantly, whether Smith, who has been on a win streak since 2016, will return to the Octagon.
Do you think Leslie Smith will find success in her labor case?
