NEW YORK — Major League Baseball agreed to pay minor leaguers $185 million to settle a federal lawsuit that has progressed through the courts for eight years without reaching a trial.
An early estimate is that perhaps 20,000 players could share the money. A more precise total will not be calculated until notice is given to eligible players.
The proposed settlement, announced May 10, was filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, where Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero is expected to grant his approval.
“This settlement is a monumental step for minor league players toward a fair and just compensation system,” Garrett Broshuis, the players’ lead lawyer and a former minor league pitcher, said in a statement. “I’ve seen first-hand the financial struggle players face while earning poverty-level wages – or no wages at all – in pursuit of their major league dream.”
If approved, $120,197,300 will be split among the players, $55.5 million will go to the players’ lawyers, and up to $5.5 million will cover reimbursement costs of the suit.
Also, $450,000 will be for the costs of administering the settlement, $637,000 will go to incentive awards for the player representatives in the suit, $400,000 for a contingency fund and $2,315,000 for a payment under the California Private Attorney General Act, which allows penalties for violating state labor code.
“We are only in the second year of a major overhaul of the 100-year-old player development system and have made great strides to improve the quality of life for minor league players,” MLB said in a statement. “We are proud that minor league players already receive significant benefits, including free housing, quality health care, multiple meals per day, college tuition assistance for those who wish to continue their education and over $450 million in annual signing bonuses for first-year players.”
“We are pleased we were able to come to a mutually agreeable resolution but are unable to comment on the details until the agreement is formally approved by the court.”
As part of the proposed settlement, MLB agreed to rescind any prohibitions against teams paying wages to minor league players outside of the season.
‘”MLB will also issue a memorandum to the clubs advising the clubs that they must compensate minor league players in compliance with wage-and-hour laws in effect in Arizona and Florida during spring training, extended spring training, instructional leagues, and the championship season in those states, including any minimum wage laws that apply,” the proposed settlement said.
The suit was filed in 2014 by first baseman/outfielder Aaron Senne, a 10th-round pick of the Marlins in 2009 who retired in 2013, and two other retired players who had been lower-round selections: Kansas City infielder Michael Liberto and San Francisco pitcher Oliver Odle. They claimed violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state minimum wage and overtime requirements for a work week they estimated at 50 to 60 hours.
Spero wrote in a pretrial ruling in March that minor leaguers are year-round employees who work during training time and found MLB violated Arizona’s state minimum wage law and was liable for triple damages. Spero also ruled MLB did not comply with California wage statement requirements, awarding $1,882,650 in penalties.
NATIONALS: Washington reliever Sean Doolittle will undergo an internal brace procedure on his left elbow, ending his season.
The left-hander, who has been on the injured list since April 20 because of an elbow sprain, is expected to be out between five and six months. Doolittle underwent platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections, but began feeling the same soreness in the last week as he did when he was first injured.
The internal brace procedure repairs an existing ulnar collateral ligament instead of the full reconstruction involved in Tommy John surgery. It is a less invasive option, which allows for a quicker recovery.
ALL-STAR GAME: The union representing concession workers at Dodger Stadium agreed not to strike during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game and its related events.
Unite Here Local 11 and concessionaire Compass Group and its subsidiary Levy Restaurants have made what the union said is “substantial progress” in contract negotiations this week.
As a result, the union agreed not to strike during the All-Star events that begin Saturday and conclude with the game on Tuesday night.
“Both parties look forward to a successful All-Star Game and continued negotiations,” union spokesperson Maria Hernandez said in a statement.
The union is seeking what it calls “a fair new contract,” although it never gave details about its demands. It said Unite Here members had earlier voted to authorize a strike during the All-Star festivities.
Levy employs nearly 1,500 food servers, bartenders, cooks and dishwashers at the stadium, which is hosting the All-Star Game for the first time since 1980.
The union represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona.
• Bill Miller will umpire at home plate in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.
This will be the second All-Star Game for the 55-year-old, who worked right field at the 2007 game in San Francisco. Miller became an MLB umpire in 1999 and a crew chief in 2014. He worked the World Series in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2020.
His crew will include Lance Barksdale (first), Mark Ripperger (second), Will Little (third), Gabe Morales (left) and Carlos Torres (right).
Barksdale worked left field for the 2012 All-Star Game at Kansas City. Ripperger, Little, Morales and Torres will be working their first All-Star Game.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
RAYS 5, ORIOLES 4: Baltimore’s longest winning streak since 1999 ended at 10 when Christian Bethancourt hit his first home run for Tampa Bay during a four-run sixth inning in St. Petersburg, Florida.
PHILLIES 2, MARLINS 1: J.T. Realmuto had three hits against his former team, including a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning off All-Star Sandy Alcantara, and visiting Philadelphia snapped a four-game skid.
Alcantara extended his shutout string to 25 innings before consecutive run-scoring doubles from Darick Hall and Realmuto gave the Phillies the lead. The right-hander went eight innings and struck out 12.
BLUE JAYS 8, ROYALS 1: Teoscar Hernandez and Matt Chapman hit three-run home runs, Alek Manoah snapped a three-start winless streak with seven strong innings and Toronto won at home.
A second-year right-hander, Manoah (10-4) came in having lost consecutive starts for the first time in his career. He turned that around by giving up one run and four hits, walking none and striking out six.
GUARDIANS 6, TIGERS 5: Josh Naylor drove in two runs and Andrés Giménez delivered the go-ahead single in the seventh inning, lifting Cleveland to a win at home.
Giménez, a first-time All-Star, hit a two-out flare to left field off Michael Fulmer (2-4) that scored rookie Steven Kwan from second base. One batter earlier, Naylor knocked in Myles Straw with a sacrifice fly to tie it 5-all.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.