Headlines

  • Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez
  • Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

MLB Backing Legislation To Exempt Minor League Players From Florida Wage Law

By Anthony Franco | March 1, 2023 at 3:31pm CDT

Major League Baseball is backing proposed legislation in Florida that would exempt minor league players from the state’s minimum wage provisions, according to a report from Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents. According to Garcia, the bill was put in front of the Florida legislature two weeks ago. It is not yet known whether it will pass the legislature and, if it does, receive the necessary approval from governor Ron DeSantis.

MLB provided a statement to both Garcia and Evan Drellich of the Athletic. The league said its intention “is merely to remove all doubt and explicitly clarify the existing Florida law, which already has stated since the early 2000’s that it follows the federal wage and hour regulations and exemptions. It serves nobody for minor league players to be treated like clock-punching workers who can only access the facilities at managed, scheduled times.”

Whether Florida’s state provision mirrors federal law matters because minor leaguers were explicitly exempted from federal minimum wage protection back in 2018. The league-backed “Save America’s Pastime Act,” passed as part of a much broader omnibus spending bill, firmly carved out players from federal minimum wage support. That act does not itself carve out an exemption from state wage protections, but MLB is pushing for a change in the wording of the Florida statute that would make clear that Florida’s provision follows the federal law.

Even if statutory wage protections were lifted, minor league players would not be without recourse in their push for higher pay. They agreed to unionize last year, with the MLB Players Association taking the lead role in negotiating the inaugural collective bargaining agreement for minor leaguers. Wages are a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. Drellich notes that collectively bargained minimum wages, once agreed upon in the still-pending minor league CBA, are likely to land higher than state laws require anyhow.

That’d perhaps make MLB’s desire for exemption from state wage protection a moot point. It’s possible exemption could give the league more leverage in CBA negotiations, although a league spokesperson told both Garcia and Drellich their efforts are “not about collective bargaining.” Rather, Drellich suggests the efforts could be better seen as protection against potential future lawsuits after the league was dealt a defeat in a California court last year.

State wage provisions were the basis for a minor league class action lawsuit that was decided upon last spring. In March, a California district court judge rejected MLB’s argument that minor leaguers were seasonal employees exempted from minimum wage protections. That judgment was justified on Arizona and Florida law. As part of that litigation, the court rejected a league argument that the “Save America’s Pastime Act” should have automatically exempted players from Florida’s state protections based on a reading of the Florida statute — one which the legislature is now considering amending in light of the court’s decision.

That ruling resulted in the awarding of back pay for previous unpaid work in Spring Training. A trial to determine the extent of damages was set for the start of June but the sides agreed to a $185MM settlement a couple weeks before it was set to get underway. That officially resolved litigation that had lasted nearly a decade.

The settlement lifted a league prohibition on teams paying minor leaguers for Spring Training work, though it did not impose any requirements on clubs to do so. That’s sure to be a discussion point in forthcoming CBA negotiations. Those began in November. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark told Drellich last week the minor leagues were expected to run as scheduled even if no agreement is in place by Opening Day.

Share 0 Retweet 5 Send via email0

Collective Bargaining Agreement Minor League Baseball Minor League Pay

NL Notes: Mancini, Doolittle, Martinez, Taylor
Main
Austin Slater Shut Down Due To Elbow Injury
Comments Closed

Comments for this post have been closed by the site administrator.

    Top Stories

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Recent

    Kolby Allard Elects Free Agency

    Rangers Re-Sign Billy McKinney To Minor League Deal

    White Sox Outright Vinny Capra

    White Sox Sign Kyle Tyler To Minor League Deal

    Nationals Sign Luis Garcia

    Poll: The Yankees’ Biggest Need At The Deadline

    Yankees Place Mark Leiter Jr. On IL With Fibular Head Stress Fracture

    Rhys Hoskins Expects To Be Out Roughly Six Weeks

    Yankees Moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. Back To Second Base

    White Sox Reinstate Luis Robert Jr.

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version