Minor League Baseball Players are MLB Employees, Owed Damages, Judge Rules

Minor league baseball players who brought forth the Senne vs. Major League Baseball lawsuit in 2014 reportedly earned a victory Tuesday.

Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported federal judge Joseph Spero of the Northern District of California ruled that minor leaguers should be considered employees throughout the year and that Major League Baseball is a joint employer along with teams.

The ruling explained that players perform "work" during spring training and that traveling to road games on team buses also qualifies for payment.

As a result, players were awarded more than $1.8 million in damages for a California claim. The amount for an Arizona claim will be determined by a trial set to begin June 1.

Advocates for Minor Leaguers released a statement following the ruling:

"For decades, minor league players have worked long hours year-round in exchange for poverty-level wages. Working as a professional baseball player requires far more than just playing baseball games. It also requires hours of year-round training, practice, and preparation, for which we have never been properly compensated. We are thrilled with today’s ruling, which is an enormous step toward holding MLB accountable for its longstanding mistreatment of Minor League players."

By ruling that the league is a joint employer, Spero opened MLB up to the lawsuit.

While much of the focus during the league-initiated lockout this offseason was about negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement and how it would impact players at the highest level of the sport, the working conditions of minor leaguers has been prevalent in the public consciousness of late.

Advocates for Minor Leaguers has highlighted cases of players sleeping in their cars and lackluster food offerings.

Alex Shultz of SFGate reported in July that players on the Stockton Ports, the Low-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, paid more in team hotel charges than they made on their paychecks during extended homestands.

The situation was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which eliminated the chance for players to stay with host families.

While there is still room for improvement, this ruling was a victory for minor leaguers as the case heads to trial.