Minor leaguers looking for financial lifeline
The new federal law designed to help unemployed workers make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic could end up being a financial lifeline for minor league baseball players.
The minor leaguers, many of whom receive compensation that’s below the federal minimum wage, could soon find their only source of income cut off – while they remain under contract to their parent club.
However, the Federal Coronavirus Relief Law, known as the CARES Act, could allow those players to receive substantially more in benefits than they’re currently being paid.
At the beginning of April, MLB teams all pledged to pay their minor league players $400 per week through then end of May. Beyond that, it would be up to each individual team how it wants to proceed.
On Tuesday, the Oakland A’s revealed that they will not continue those payments at the end of the month. The Chicago White Sox have said they will pay their minor-leaguers through the end of June. The San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins have pledged payments through the end of August. Other teams are expected to announce their intentions in the coming days.
The average minor leaguer is paid based on the level of competition. In 2020, Class A players were scheduled to make $290/week, Class AA $350/ week and Class AAA $502/week. That comes out to roughly $4,800 for threemonth short-season leagues to around $14,000 for five months at Class AAA.
Why are they paid so little? Minor leaguers aren’t considered employees of their parent clubs, but “seasonal apprentices” under the provisions of the “Save America’s Pastime Act,” included in the 2018 federal tax cut bill.
Under those provisions, they wouldn’t normally be eligible for unemployment benefits. However, former National Labor Relations Board chairman William B. Gould IV says their situation has changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s clear that independent contractors, as well as so called ‘gig workers,’ are entitled to get the pandemic unemployment compensation,” Gould tells USA TODAY Sports, comparing their situation to that of drivers for ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft.
This would mean that not only would those players be eligible to receive unemployment once their parent club stops paying them, but they would also be entitled to the additional $600 per week Congress has authorized through July 31.
Since minor leaguers are classified as contractors and not employees of the team, as major league players or front-office staffers are, “(MLB) doesn’t have the skin in the game that they normally have because the public is going to be picking up the tab,” says Gould, who’s now a law professor emeritus at Stanford University.
In the case of the A’s players, having those payments from the team cut off sooner rather than later might be to their benefit – since the unemployment payment, plus the extra $600 per week, would be much more their current income. (Meanwhile, Marlins and Padres players would not be able to file for unemployment until their payments end in August – when the $600 extra would be unavailable.)
The one catch could involve where and how players file for those benefits.
Unemployment claims are processed and paid by the states. It’s still uncertain whether players would file in their parent club’s home state or the home of their minor league club.
It all depends “on where jurisdiction is obtained,” Gould says, with the caveat that “if jurisdiction exists where the spring training sites are, you might have (much more) conservative unemployment eligibility determinations.”
A’s general manager David Forst informed the team’s prospects Tuesday that while their payments would be halted, the universal minor league player contract (UPC) “remains in place during the period of its suspension,” which means they’re still considered under team control while they’re not working.
According to ESPN’S Jeff Passan, paying each of the A’s minor leaguers for June, July and August would cost $5,200 per player.