Minor Leaguers are employers, jurist says

Minor league baseball players are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act throughout the calendar year, a federal jurist has ruled in a 181-page opinion striking a major blow to the leagues defense in an upcoming trial.

Former MLB player and minor league pitcher Garrett R. Broshuis of Korein Tillery LLC, one of the plaintiffs' counsel, argued in hearings for summary judgment that if the minor leaguers are employees year-round, plaintiffs essentially win the case.

Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero in San Francisco found just that and also found in his Tuesday ruling that Major League Baseball is a joint employer of the players, which means the organization can be held liable for any alleged offenses. Spero further concluded the players perform "work" during training and must be compensated for travel time on team transport to away games.

Spero did not rule in favor of MLB on any of the major summary and partial summary judgments it was seeking or its motions to exclude some of the plaintiffs' expert witness testimony. Trial is set to begin June 1 and end July 14. Senne et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al., 3:14-cv-00608, (N.D. Cal., filed Feb. 07, 2014).

"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 complete the training and obtain a license," Spero wrote.

Clifford H. Pearson of Pearson, Simon & Warshaw LLP is part of the team representing the minor league players. He said via email Wednesday, "We are pleased with the court's order and look forward to presenting the case to a jury."

Elise M. Bloom of Proskauer Rose LLP, who represents MLB, did not respond to requests for comment by press time Wednesday.

Spero also struck down MLB's argument that players are classified as "creative professionals" because their work is akin to art.

The players' athleticism cannot be achieved by just repetition and practice and requires special talent, Bloom had argued. Had she convinced Spero, the players would have been exempt from protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Spero wrote the court could not find "any authority that suggest 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 did not rule on the validity of Bloom's argument that the minor leaguers fall under the "seasonal amusement" exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act, finding there are still disputed issues of fact. "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,'" he wrote. MLB can still raise this argument at trial and possibly win on this issue.

Also up for dispute are: whether MLB willingly violated state wage and hour laws as well as how much plaintiffs are entitled to in penalties. At the moment, the figure for how much the league and the teams may owe is around $1.88 million, with the possibility for more.

The minor league players had accused MLB of paying them criminally low salaries: anywhere from $3,000 to $7,500 for the entire year, despite the players often working more than 50 hours a week with no overtime compensation or wages during training and instructional time. They said in court filings, "The defendants have preyed upon minor leaguers, who are powerless to combat the collusive power of the MLB cartel. MLB continues to actively and openly collude on many aspects of minor leaguers' working conditions, including, but not limited to, wages, contract terms, drug testing, and discipline."

Notably, the plaintiffs cannot pursue damages under federal law past March 23, 2018, when the Save America's Pastime Act went into effect, exempting minor league players from the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, they can still seek damages past that date under state laws.

Whether or not settlement agreements may form in the future is unclear. Over the eight-year course of this case there has been no mediation. Counsel did announce during the hearings for summary judgment that they had a mediation conference planned in April.