baseball has not been very very good to my wallet

February 11, 2013 4:13 PM

Is it legal to pay ballpark groundskeepers less than minimum wage on a "per-game" basis?

My local minor league baseball team is advertising for groundskeepers and paying on a per-game basis. They know people will be there from 5pm-11pm and are paying $35/game. That's below minimum wage. How is that legal?

I know some games will end early, but some will go into extra innings. And some will be called for rain just as the staff is heading to the park. It seems like a raw deal, but also an illegal deal.

posted by headnsouth to Work & Money (4 answers total)

I can't vouch as to whether its legal or not, but my local NFL team does this as well. Paying $50/game. So it's definitely the norm.
posted by signondiego at 5:37 PM on February 11, 2013

As a somewhat cynical answer, it's legal under the noone-is-going-to-sue-the-MiLB exemption. The people that are interested in pursuing such a job opportunity are those who are trying to get into the business, which means they are not likely to sue the business they are trying to get into.
posted by saeculorum at 7:42 PM on February 11, 2013

Best answer: Take a look at Jeffery v. Sarasota White Sox, Inc., 64 F. 3d 590 (11th Cir. 1995) and Bridewell v. Cincinnati Reds, 155 F. 3d 828 (6th Cir. 1998) for interesting discussions of the issues.
posted by dpaul at 7:43 PM on February 11, 2013

Response by poster: Interesting. Bummer because we love MiLB and our local team & hate to think they are taking advantage of people like that. I'll advise my son to look elsewhere for work.
posted by headnsouth at 6:42 AM on February 12, 2013