## Facts

- A labor organization petitioned the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) to be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign graduate teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and research assistants.
- The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act grants collective-bargaining rights to “educational employees” but excludes “students” from that definition.
- The IELRB found graduate assistantships were generally available only to enrolled graduate students and typically ended when student status ended.
- The IELRB found graduate assistants received stipends and tuition/fee waivers tied to enrollment and academic progress.
- Duties and hours varied by department; some work was closely related to academic training and professional development, while other tasks were more routine.
- Consistent with its prior practice, the IELRB applied a “significant-connection” test asking whether the employment relationship was primarily an aspect of the student’s educational program and whether compensation was linked to student status.
- The IELRB dismissed the petition, concluding the individuals were “students” excluded from coverage.
- The labor organization sought direct appellate review of the IELRB’s dismissal.

## Issues

1. Whether the IELRB reasonably interpreted the statutory exclusion of “students” to cover graduate assistants whose assistantships were significantly connected to their academic programs.
2. Whether the IELRB’s application of its significant-connection test to the graduate assistants at UIUC was clearly erroneous on this record.
3. What level of judicial deference applies to the IELRB’s determination of “student” status under the Act.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the IELRB’s order dismissing the representation petition.
- The court held the IELRB’s construction of “student,” including the significant-connection test, was reasonable and consistent with the statute’s scheme.
- Applying a clearly erroneous standard to this mixed question of law and fact, the court concluded the IELRB’s determination was supported by the record.
- The court rejected arguments that the assistants’ teaching/research contributions or federal NLRA decisions required treating them as statutory employees under Illinois law.

## Legal Principles

- Where a labor statute excludes “students” from the definition of covered employees and does not define the term, an administrative agency may reasonably construe “student” by considering the overall character of the relationship to the educational institution.
- An agency may classify individuals with dual student/work roles as excluded students when their work and compensation are significantly connected to, and primarily part of, their educational programs.
- Courts give deference to the IELRB’s application of statutory terms to particular facts and will not disturb its determination of coverage unless clearly erroneous.
- Federal labor-law interpretations do not control construction of an Illinois public-sector statute that contains an explicit student exclusion.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the IELRB’s dismissal of the petition, ruling that UIUC graduate teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and research assistants were properly treated as “students” excluded from the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act because their assistantships were significantly connected to their enrollment and academic programs.


Graduate Emps. Org., IFT/AFT, AFL-CIO v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 315 Ill. App. 3d 278, 733 N.E.2d 759 (1st Dist. 2000)