SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Minor leaguers qualify as year-round employees, a federal judge ruled in a lengthy repudiation of Major League Baseball’s contention they're seasonal workers.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Spero also awarded the players nearly $1.9 million in penalties, finding the league failed to comply with California wage statement requirements. He also found MLB separately liable for violating Arizona’s record-keeping law, writing, “Plaintiffs may present evidence at trial consistent with this opinion to establish the amount of the penalty to which they are entitled.”
He issued his 181-page ruling late Tuesday in a lawsuit filed eight years ago by lead plaintiff Arron Senne, who played for a Miami Marlins farm team in Jamestown, New York. Senne sued then-Commissioner Bud Selig and 30 major league clubs for violating Fair Labor Standards Act, claiming minor league players earn a meager $3,000 to $7,500 per season and are not paid overtime or compensated for off-season work, including spring training.
“Plaintiffs here have an employment contract with defendants that provides for the payment of compensation and expressly requires that plaintiffs perform service throughout the calendar year for a period of seven years,” Spero wrote. “These are not students who have enrolled in a vocational school with the understanding that they would perform services, without compensation, as part of the practical training necessary to compete the training and obtain a license.”
Spero ruled MLB exercises significant control over hiring and firing, players’ schedules and setting minimum salaries to support the players’ contention that MLB is a joint employer with minor league teams under federal labor laws.
"The court places particular weight on MLB’s imposition of a uniform contract on all first-year players, which specifies that players will be obligated to provide services throughout the year for seven seasons but will only receive a salary during the championship seasons; and that players must 'comply with all decisions of the commissioner' under the MLRs [major league rules],” he wrote.
He was unpersuaded by MLB’s assertion that its role is that of a monitor with no power to hire and fire minor league players, writing, “Indeed, MLB’s power to control the conditions of plaintiffs’ employment is so broad that it was able to unilaterally suspend all minor league play at the outset of the pandemic.”
Spero further slammed MLB’s attempt to limit its defense to the championship season since “the players are employees throughout the calendar year and perform work outside the championship season.”
He added, “Nor has the court found any authority that suggests that an employee may be simultaneously classified as a qualifying creative professional during one portion of the year and a non-qualifying employee during another portion of the year where that employee is bound by a contract that governs the relationship between the employee and the employer for the entire calendar year.”
Spero also declined to apply the “amusement exemption” to the players' federal and Florida, Pennsylvania and Maryland state law labor claims, rejecting MLB's argument that they shouldn’t be paid for time spent playing at training facilities considered to be an amusement or recreational establishments. “There is no basis for the court to conclude as a matter of law that their activities in presenting baseball games are so insignificant that these establishments are ‘truly seasonal,’ Spero wrote, finding that it remains an open question as to whether MLB can prevail on its amusement exemption defense, which could be raised at trial.
Bobby Pouya, partner with Pearson, Simon & Warshaw who represents the players, told Courthouse News, “We are pleased with the court’s ruling and recognition that minor league baseball players are employees of Major League Baseball and the major league clubs. We look forward to continuing to litigate this case on behalf of the minor leaguers.”
Attorneys for Major League Baseball did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Spero’s ruling coincides with a California state senator’s introduction of a bill to establish a Minor League Baseball Players’ Bill of Rights.
“Baseball is called America’s pastime and minor leaguers are just asking for what every American worker wants,” said Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat from San Mateo said in a statement Tuesday. “These players are asking for fair treatment and the opportunity to make a decent living under decent conditions.”
Senate Bill 1248 would protect California minor leaguers under state labor laws and allow them to profit from their names, images and likenesses without getting kicked off their club team or risk losing their MLB eligibility.
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