Rob Manfred called out by advocacy group after ‘rejecting premise’ that minor leaguers aren’t paid living wage

On Tuesday, Manfred spoke with reporters prior to the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, and was asked to explain why many minor-league players are paid below minimum wage. Manfred “rejected” the premise.

“I kind of reject the premise of the question that minor-league players are not paid a living wage,” Manfred said (via Baseball America). “I think that we’ve made real strides in the last few years in terms of what minor-league players are paid. Even putting to one side the signing bonuses that many of them have received, they’ve received housing, which is obviously another form of compensation, so I just reject the premise of the question. I reject the premise that they are not paid a living wage.”

Manfred is not blessed with great PR skills and rejecting the premise that minor leaguers are not paid a living wage only figures to inflame players. Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a nonprofit organization working to improve conditions for minor leaguers, released the following statement after Manfred spoke Tuesday:

“Most Minor League baseball players work second jobs because their annual salaries are insufficient to make ends meet. The commissioner makes an annual salary of $17.5 million. His suggestion that Minor League pay is acceptable is both callous and false.”

MLB to pay $185 million in settlement with minor league players over minimum-wage and overtime allegations

Major League Baseball will pay $185 million to settle the federal class-action lawsuit filed by minor league players who sought pay for minimum-wage and overtime violations by teams, pending a judge approving the settlement, according to a document filed in California court Friday.

The suit, filed in February 2014 by former Miami Marlins minor leaguer Aaron Senne and two other retired minor league players, was settled May 10, three weeks before it was set to go to trial. Thousands of other players will be eligible to receive part of the $120,197,300 due to players, with the rest going to attorney’s fees and other costs.

As part of the settlement, MLB will issue a memo that allows teams to pay minor league players during spring training, and extended spring training and instructional leagues in Florida and Arizona. Teams previously had been blocked from doing so.

Minor league players, MLB reach settlement in minimum wage lawsuit

Minor league players and Major League Baseball have reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging teams violated minimum wage laws.

Terms of the settlement were not filed with the court Tuesday and details were not released. Two people familiar with the negotiations, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the release of details was not authorized, said the sides in recent weeks had been discussing a possible settlement in the $200 million range.

“We are pleased to report that the parties have reached a settlement in principle in this over eight-year-old case, subject to court approval,” lawyers for the players said in a statement. “We look forward to filing preliminary approval papers with the court and cannot comment further until then.”

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.

MLB argues for minor leaguers to remain unpaid in spring training, citing life skills gained

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A Major League Baseball lawyer said in federal court Friday that minor league players should not be paid during spring training, because they should be considered trainees. The argument was part of a broader push by MLB to toss an eight-year-old lawsuit brought by Aaron Senne and other minor leaguers over their compensation.

“It is the players that obtain the greater benefit from the training opportunities that they are afforded than the clubs, who actually just incur the cost of having to provide that training,” said Elise Bloom of Proskauer Rose, a firm that is also advising MLB in its lockout of major league players. “During the training season, the players are not employees, and would not be subject to either the Fair Labor Standards Act or any state minimum wage act.”

MLB and its clubs are defendants in a class-action lawsuit, Senne vs. MLB, which is set to begin a jury trial June 1. Judge Joseph Spero of the Northern District of California on Friday heard arguments for summary judgment, a process that determines which issues would actually be heard during the trial, and which are decided beforehand. Each side is also asking the judge to rule in their favor before the case heads to trial.