Two recently filed federal lawsuits may open a new chapter of labor discord between Major League Baseball and its players. Unlike in the past, the disgruntled workers are not major league players but the approximately 6,000 minor league players whom MLB teams employ to play for their minor league affiliates.
In Senne v. Major League Baseball, Case No. 3:14-cv-00608-RS (N.D.Ca.), 43 former minor league players filed a federal class action suit against MLB, its former commissioner, Bud Selig, and all 30 MLB teams. The suit alleges that the defendants failed to pay them minimum wage and overtime in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. It also asserts violations of the minimum wage and overtime statutes of California, Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Oregon—the states where a majority of minor league games are played.
