Legislation would roll back law exemptions enabling Major League Baseball to skirt federal wage and hour laws at the expense of unionized minor league players
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has introduced legislation that would roll back exemptions from federal worker rights for Minor League Baseball players.
The new Fair Ball Act would enact a narrowly tailored exemption that would only apply if the players are being compensated under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. If the players are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, then they would have the same federal wage protections as all other workers.
“Minor League Baseball players make the game what it is, but an unjust law denies them the rights all workers deserve,” Wyden said. “These athletes dedicate themselves to the game, generating millions in revenue and entertaining fans across Oregon and nationwide. The Fair Ball Act will level the playing field by restoring the protections that players deserve and giving them the leverage they need to negotiate fair collective bargaining agreements.”
In 2018, Major League Baseball successfully lobbied for legislation to shield itself from a class-action lawsuit alleging the league and its teams violated federal and state wage and hour laws. The league argued that 2018 legislation would protect Minor League teams from being contracted only to contract dozens of Minor League Baseball teams just two years later.
The new Fair Ball Act would help protect Minor League players and the gains they have made to earn a living wage as a result of their historic unionization under the Major League Baseball Players Association in 2022 and subsequent collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball.
In addition to Wyden, the legislation is sponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Peter Welch, D-Vt.
The legislation is endorsed by the Major League Baseball Players Association, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the National Employment Law Project.
The text of the bill is here.