Minor leaguers work year-round, MLB violated wage law: judge

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A federal judge ruled that minor leaguers are year-round employees who work during training time and found Major League Baseball violated Arizona state minimum wage law and is liable for triple damages.

Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero in San Francisco also ruled MLB did not comply with California wage statement requirements, awarding $1,882,650 in penalties.

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Spero unsealed a 181-page ruling Tuesday night in a lawsuit filed eight years ago. He ruled minor leaguers should be paid for travel time to road games in the California League and to practice in Arizona and Florida.

"These are not students who have enrolled in a vocational school with the understanding that they would perform services, without compensation, as part of the practical training necessary to compete the training and obtain a license," Spero wrote.

In rejecting many of MLB’s motions for summary judgments, Spero allowed those claims to proceed to a trial scheduled for June 1.

He ruled for the players under Arizona state law, leaving only the amount of damages to be determined.

"For decades, minor league players have worked long hours year-round in exchange for poverty-level wages," the steering committee of Advocates for Minor Leaguers said in a statement. "Working as a professional baseball player requires far more than just playing baseball games. It also requires hours of year-round training, practice, and preparation, for which we have never been properly compensated.

"We are thrilled with today’s ruling, which is an enormous step toward holding MLB accountable for its longstanding mistreatment of minor league