Karina Basso  |  July 29, 2015

Category: Labor & Employment

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MLB_LogoOn July 13, a California federal judge ruled that objections concerning the Class Members’ standing of a wage and hour class action lawsuit filed against the Major League Baseball (MLB) will be put on hold until the case has reached the class certification stage.

The MLB wage and hour class action lawsuit names the MLB, 22 of the leagues’ club, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball as defendants in claims that minor league players have been systematically denied overtime pay and minimum wage, alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Background on MLB Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit

The proposed MLB class action lawsuit was originally filed in February of last year and claims the minor league baseball players (the lowest rank members of the professional baseball franchise) are paid less than minimum wage, are not paid for overtime work, and sometimes are not paid at all for work required by their jobs. The wage and hour class action lawsuit originally named all of the 30 MLB franchise teams; however, eight of the franchises were dismissed back in May.

In May, the baseball organization and its franchises attempted to have this wage and hour class action lawsuit dismissed, arguing the minor league baseball players lacked standing to bring state-law claims against MLB, as none of the athletes were considered employees of all eight states from which the wage and hour claims were derived.

According to the MLB’s motion to dismiss the wage and hour class action, no baseball team should have to face state-law claims regarding minimum wage and overtime pay unless it specifically employed one of the named plaintiffs corresponding with the state that team is based in.

Judge Denies MLB’s Motion to Dismiss Wage and Hour Class Action

However, U.S. District Judge Joseph C. Spero ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, stating the MLB wage and hour class action lawsuit will move forward because there is at least one Class Member for each of states in which wage and hour claims were alleged. Furthermore, the judge finds that deferring the issue won’t be a legal burden to the named defendants.

Judge Spero refused to rule on the MLB’s motion for failure to state a claim, finding that the defendants’ argument should have been pled under a different rule of procedure. According to Judge Spero’s order denying MLB’s amended motion to dismiss the wage and hour class action, “Here, the sufficiency of plaintiffs’ state-law claims will depend upon whether the classes proposed by plaintiffs are certified and the scope of the claims the classes are permitted to assert,” he states.

In addition to this wage and hour class action lawsuit, the MLB is also facing an antitrust class action, alleging the franchise suppresses compensation for minor league players by employing restrictive contract requirements. Over the course of the litigation for both the antitrust and the wage and hour class action lawsuit, attempts to relate these two cases have been made, but the courts have declined to grant this request.

The MLB Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is Senne et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-00608, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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