PGA Tour Escapes Caddie ‘Bibs’ Class Action Lawsuit

The PGA Tour Inc. has dodged a class action lawsuit filed by more than 150 caddies over accusations of poor working conditions and a requirement for them to wear advertising “bibs” without financial compensation.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria dismissed the PGA class action lawsuit with prejudice saying that caddies agree to wear a uniform when they accept the position.

“Caddies have been required to wear the bibs for decades. So caddies know, when they enter the profession, that wearing a bib during tournaments is part of the job,” Judge Chhabria states in the motion to dismiss the lawsuit. “In other words, the bib is the primary part of a caddie’s uniform.”

Judge Chhabria further states that caddies sign contracts with the Tour that requires them to wear the uniforms, so even if the language doesn’t explicitly mention bibs, its a requirement for them to participate in a PGA tournament.

“For that reason, there is no merit to the caddies’ contention that the contracts somehow prevent the Tour from requiring them to wear bibs,” the judge contends.

However, the caddies allege that they are employees of the individual golfers who participate in PGA Tour events, not by the Tour itself. They claim that the Tour “threatened to and attempted to interfere with [the caddies’] business relationships with their respective players and individual sponsors” if they would not agree to wear the bibs.

While the judge did dismiss the “bib” claims, he also acknowledged that the poor working conditions allegations may have worth.

According to the original PGA Tour class action lawsuit, a February 2015 tournament was suspended due to thunderstorms with high winds which forced the players and bystanders inside.

However, the caddies were allegedly left to seek refuge under an open metal shed or in their vehicles. The PGA caddies class action lawsuit claimed that this action prompted ESPN analyst Scott Van Pelt to openly conclude that the PGA Tour “treats its caddies like outside dogs.

In the motion to dismiss the PDGA lawsuit, Judge Chhabria states that “The caddies’ overall complaint about poor treatment by the Tour has merit, but this federal lawsuit about bibs does not.”

The PGA Tour caddies hoped to represent a nationwide class of caddies, “who, without remuneration, wear or have worn bibs bearing the logos of Defendant PGA Tour’s sponsors or those of Defendant’s partners or affiliates, while providing caddie services to a golfer participating in a tournament on one of Defendant PGA Tour’s Three Tours pursuant to an agreement between such golfer and such caddie.”

The plaintiffs are represented by Lee Cirsch, W. Mark Lanier, Eugene R. Egdorf, Benjamin T. Major, Ryan D. Ellis and Jonathan P. Wilkerson of The Lanier Law Firm PC and Arthur R. Miller of The Lanier Law Firm PLLC.

The PGA Tour Golf Caddie Class Action Lawsuit is Hicks et al. v. PGA Tour Inc., Case No. 3:15-cv-00489, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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