Does Minor League Pay Violate Labor Laws?

More than 40 minor league baseball players are suing, saying their pay structure “routinely” violates federal and state wage and hour laws. The lawsuit was filed earlier this year, and lawyers are getting ready to take depositions from players. Garrett Broshuis, pitcher in the San Francisco Giants farm system from 2004 to 2009, now a lawyer, filed the lawsuit in February. “This isn’t a free market,” he said. “It’s a restricted market. There’s something fundamentally wrong with that.” But in a statement, Major League Baseball said it was “impractical and nonsensical” to keep time sheets for ball players, or to have them request overtime pay for games that go into extra innings. Minor league players work between 50 and 70 hours per week, and are paid between $3,000 and $7,500 for each five-month season. By contrast, for the 2015 season, major-league players receive a minimum salary of $507,500.