On October 24, 2014, Aaron Senne and several former minor league baseball players filed a consolidated amended class action complaint against the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, former Commissioner Bud Selig himself, and the 30 major league clubs. The amended complaint alleges in its introductory paragraphs that the defendants "openly collude on the working conditions for the development of [their] chief commodity: young baseball players."

Despite this introduction, and unlike prior and pending cases brought by professional baseball players, the 100-page amended complaint in Senne does not make claims for antitrust violations. The complaint instead consists of claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, state wage-and-hour laws, state unfair-business-practice laws, and equitable state theories such as quantum meruit. In short, the players allege that they are paid significantly less than what is fair and/or what is required by laws governing minimum wages and overtime.

The lawsuit is generating publicity not merely because of its subject matter, but also because of the media relations efforts of one of the plaintiff's lead attorneys, Garret Broshuis, a 33-year old former minor leaguer and recent (2013) law school graduate. In addition to the sports-related periodicals one would expect to cover this case, Broshuis has recently been featured in the Village Voice, the Daily Beast, and Mother Jones – publications with decidedly non-jock audiences that are not known for their coverage of either sports or the business thereof. Broshuis explains in these features that minor leaguers typically earn $1,000 or less per month, and then are expected to purchase their own equipment and pay for their own lodging. [side note: The New York Mets have generated some recent negative press for requiring their minor leaguers to pay for use of Mets training facilities in the offseason – something which their co-defendants would privately concede is not helpful to MLB's p.r. efforts in justifying the defendants' stance in this Senne case]. Defendants and their proponents argue that the minor league experience is not run-of-the-mill employment but is instead designed to be a training ground for the major leagues; in short, minor leaguers are provided with more than what can be measured in their paychecks.

While opinions abound about the plaintiffs' likelihood of success, it would seem that the federal claim, at least, will turn on the applicability of the exemptions in the Fair Labor Standards Act that are geared toward certain types of seasonal employees. Plaintiffs are aware of these exemptions but argue that they are inapplicable.

The case is Senne et al v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, et al, Case Number 3:2014cv00608, United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco). Motions to dismiss and to transfer venue are pending. To the extent that the case is not cut short by dispositive motions or a settlement, an 8-week trial is set for early 2017.

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