Are Professional Women's Baseball Players Exempt Under the Save America's Pastime Act?

An issue that has been raised in the courts and in a previous blog is whether professional athletes (working in the United States) are exempt from overtime. As discussed here, Major League Baseball settled a case in the Northern District of California (“Northern District”), on the precise issue of whether minor league baseball players are exempt from overtime.

With the formation of the Women’s Pro Baseball League, it makes sense to shed some light on this issue to ensure that baseball Clubs and the Leagues are mitigating risk as it relates to athlete wage/hour issues.

As we have discussed in the past, it well known that minor league baseball players are exempt from overtime, thanks to the Save America’s Pastime Act. This Act was passed in 2018, and makes certain professional baseball players exempt from the FLSA (aka- overtime). This Act applies to Minor League players (due to the way they are compensated).

Now, an employment issue for the new women’s baseball league, is whether their players are also exempt from overtime.

Save America’s Past Time Act (Section 213(19) of the FLSA), indicates that certain baseball players are exempt from overtime:

[A]ny employee employed to play baseball who is compensated pursuant to a contract that provides for a weekly salary for services performed during the league’s championship season (but not spring training or the off season)….

This statute leaves some area for evaluation:

FIRST- What is a “Championship Season” as mentioned in the Act?

SECOND - How will the players be paid? Will it be a weekly salary? Will the compensation structure align with the Act and thereby exempt the players from overtime?

The league/clubs can consider whether this exemption applies to the new league. Since there are a number of undefined terms (as seen above), prudent employers will err on the side of paying overtime, so as to not risk exposure to litigation.

Lastly, there has been news of a potential proposed legislation called the “Fair Ball Act.” The purported purpose of this Act is to better protect the Minor League baseball players who are affected by the exemption.