Orioles Concessions Workers File Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit

Oriole Park at Camden Yards concessions workers recently filed an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit alleging that the company did not adequately follow overtime laws.

The workers’ unpaid overtime class action lawsuit’s Fair Labor Standards Act claims were thrown out, but the workers argue that the federal judge tossed these claims too quickly.

This unpaid overtime class action lawsuit was originally filed in September 2011. In June 2015 the Buffalo, New York federal judge in charge of the case granted summary judgment in favor of the concessions contractor implicated in the case, Delaware North Cos. Sportservices Inc.

However, the plaintiffs are now dealing with the Second Circuit, and argue that the Buffalo judge tossed their claims out too quickly.

The lead plaintiffs, William Hill and Tanica Brown, told judges that the Buffalo judge was wrong to apply overtime exemptions rules for recreational establishments to the case.

The plaintiffs argue that the contractor is separate from the Baltimore Orioles, and that as a contractor, it does not fall under the recreational establishment category necessary to warrant an overtime exemption.

The contractor’s counsel argued back, claiming that the initial judgment to toss out the case because of overtime exemption rules was correct, adding that the Baltimore Orioles and the Delaware North contractor are essentially the same.

According to the counsel, “If the Orioles sold the hot dogs, the exemption would apply.” The counsel argued that the presence of a contractor should not change the exemption rule.

He further noted that buying concessions at a game is an integral part of the game experience.

The judges involved in this unpaid overtime class action lawsuit are struggling with the question of whether or not the contractor should be treated as legally the same entity as the Orioles.

Judge Parker seemed to consider buying and consuming concessions as much part of a game as actually watching it.

“You can’t have a ballpark without some hot dogs,” Parker said.

While others tend to agree that concessions and baseball go hand in hand, not everyone sees this nostalgic mindset as the basis for a legal argument. Many fans choose to buy their food and merchandise outside of the ballpark, and there are certainly fans who choose not to partake in those activities.

According to Judge Pooler, it is now up to the Second Circuit to apply the overtime exemption law in this case. “It seems to me it’s bad policy to keep exempting more people,” she said.

There are a number of penalties when an employer fails to meet overtime laws. Broken overtime laws include things such as underpayment or unpaid wages, misclassification of employees to avoid overtime payments, paying wages with insufficient funds, failure to provide meal or rest breaks, failure to provide one day’s rest in seven and failure to pay wages timely upon termination.

If you or someone you know has worked for inadequate overtime pay, or has suffered from other broken overtime laws, you may be able to join an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit.

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