In the case of Senne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, et al., Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero entered summary judgment in favor of minor league baseball players who play in the State of California and Arizona are considered employees of Major League Baseball. This was the culmination of an eight year lawsuit between minor leaguers and MLB.

This ruling is a direct rejection of MLB’s contention minor leaguers are seasonal apprentices. On that point, Judge Spero stated, “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.”

Because minor leaguers are employees and not “seasonal apprentices,” MLB has been found in violation of the labor laws for Arizona and California. As a result, California minor leaguers were awarded $1,882,650 in penalties. For Arizona minor leaguers, MLB is liable for triple damages.

This ruling is applicable to the following groups of minor league players:

• Players who had not signed a MLB contract and played in Spring Training, Extended Spring Training, or Instructional Leagues in Florida from 2009 to the present;
• Players who had not signed a MLB contract and played in the California League for at least one week from 2010 to the present; and
• Players who participated in Spring Training, Extended Spring Training, or Instructional Leagues in Arizona from 2011 to present

Considering that all 30 Major League teams participate in Spring Training in either Arizona or Florida, this impacts every minor leaguer who has attended Spring Training for over the past decade, and it will include the minor leaguers who are in Spring Training at the moment.

In addition to the aforementioned damages, California League players are due compensation for travel time and team activities. The travel time compensation also applies to minor leaguers in Arizona and Florida.

The amount of compensation is still in dispute. On that point, the Court specifically ruled MLB failed to proper records. Not only will this lead to compensation for those lost wages, but it will also result in fines under both Arizona and California state laws.

The damages and other issues not contemplated or ruled upon in this summary judgment are set for trial in June. Of note, there is a pre-trial mediation conference scheduled for April 13-14, 2022. At that meeting, the issues at trial may be settled, and both sides may agreed to a settlement different than what the court ruled to avoid any appeals of this summary judgment.

It must be noted summary judgment rulings are routinely appealed, and the appeals typically lead to settlements to avoid the costly and lengthy appeal process. Pursuant to court rules, MLB has 30 days to file an appeal of this judgment, which would be right after the scheduled pre-trial mediation.

Overall, while this was a landmark ruling for minor leaugers, it must be noted this only applies to players in Arizona, California, and Florida. The remainder of minor leaguers are still subject to the same wage rules already in place.