Minor League Baseball Players Exempt From Receiving Fair Pay
Unless you are a minor league baseball player or a family member, you have likely never even heard of “Save America’s Pastime Act,” a bill introduced in 2016 that seems to do anything BUT save our nation’s pastime. The act, which was introduced by one billionaire to a group of billionaires, was created as a means or avoiding paying minor league players fair pay by making them overtime exempt under the FLSA. What is fair pay? According to the act, the very lowest minimum wage and no overtime.
The exemption appears on page 1967 of the Fair Labor Standards Act and essentially says that any person employed to play baseball who is compensated pursuant to a contract that provides for a weekly salary should be compensated at a rate that is not less than the federal minimum wage for a maximum of 40 hours a week, regardless of how many hours a player dedicates to baseball related activities. Compensation is only necessary for services performed during the league’s season but not for spring training or off-season training.
As a result, most minor league ball players barely make enough to cross the poverty line. The salaries of low-A ball players earn $1,100 a month, while AAA players earn as much as $2,150 a week. However, most minor league players spend an average of 50 hours a week on baseball related activities, which can include training, games, and travel.
In March of 2018, Trump Signs $1.3 Million Bill to Exempt Minor League Players From Overtime Wages
Once the bill was introduced, there was obviously an uproar. Whether a person dedicates his or her talents to customer service, manufacturing, marketing, journalism, or a sport, he or she deserves to receive fair pay and compensated fairly. The exemption essentially states that minor league ball players are not worthy of fair pay or even minimum wage standards.
In 2014, a class action lawsuit was brought against the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. The lawsuit stated that the league violated federal minimum wage and overtime standards. This past month, the case was settled in favor of the league. The rationale? Baseball players’ hours are “incalculable,” and it would be both unrealistic and detrimental to minor league organizations if they were forced to track hours and prohibit, say, batting time or travel because a player was over the 40-hour threshold. President Trump signed off on the bill himself.
What This May Mean for Affiliated Teams
Though the act was geared toward independent leagues, it may have an impact on affiliated leagues as well, in which the average player does not receive fair pay and is paid well below the federal minimum wage standards. Affiliated teams of professional leagues have a salary cap of $100,000 for the season. As a result, these leagues operate under the assumption that players are seasonal and therefore not subject to FLSA’s fair pay protections for overtime and minimum wage. Players in these leagues earn an average of $750 to $800 per month. If the exemption remains as ambiguous as it reads now, the new laws could apply to affiliated leagues, which would mean a bump in salary to $1,100 per month. Many argue that if forced to adhere to paying these employees fair pay, minor leagues will go out of business.
Let a Wage and Overtime Lawyer Protect Your Rights
Whether you are a ball player, artist, business executive, customer service representative, or retail associate, you deserve to be receive fair pay and adequate compensation for your time and work. Barely making enough money to break the poverty threshold and working overtime hours for no additional pay is not fair pay. The Fort Worth wage and overtime lawyers at Herrmann Law fight against unfair employment practices to ensure that the law is upheld throughout all sectors and for all positions, and not just those that are convenient. If you are the victim of unfair labor practices, reach out to Herrmann Law to discuss your case today.
