Clubhouse & Administrative Employees in Sports Venues Misclassification Investigation

Recent investigations by the Department of Labor into the pay practices of Major League Baseball teams have unearthed wage and hour violations by several teams, including violations by the minor league teams affiliated with the major league teams. While some teams have already settled with the Department of Labor and agreed to pay back wages to their hourly employees, other investigations are still ongoing.

In these investigations, the Department of Labor is focusing on pay for clubhouse and administrative workers as well as interns, all of whom are employees who received less than the minimum wage or did not receive overtime at a time-and-a-half rate for any hours worked past 40 in a workweek, as is required under federal wage and hour laws. In the case of interns working for teams in baseball operations, group sales, and other traditionally non-exempt jobs, even those interns who receive stipends and class credit may still be eligible for minimum wage and overtime compensation if they are in fact employees of the team.

Non-intern clubhouse and administrative workers can be improperly classified as exempt from overtime if they are performing the same tasks as hourly employees or do not have any managerial authority in their roles. Such jobs could include video operators, clubhouse managers, and administrative employees such as office managers. 

Additionally, other non-exempt employees could also be performing off-the-clock work before or after their shifts or during unpaid meal breaks, particularly if employees are paid “day rates” for work that ultimately fall short of the minimum wage based on the hours worked. For example, an employee paid a “day rate” of $50 who works for eight hours or more would not have received minimum wage for all hours of work. In California, employees who work more than eight hours in a day are also eligible for an overtime premium of one-and-one-half times their regularly hourly rate for hours worked beyond eight in a day. 

If you are currently working as a clubhouse employee, administrative worker, “day rate” employee, or an intern for any major or minor league sports team and believe that you have been improperly classified or did not receive minimum wage or compensation for all hours worked, including overtime, please contact our office immediately.

You can contact us by completing the form on this page or by calling us at (816)714-7100. Please reference that you are contacting us regarding the Clubhouse Employee Investigation.