Are minor league baseball players who play in Virginia covered by Virginia's overtime and minimum wage laws?
Subject
Whether minor league baseball players employed by Major League Baseball minor league clubs that play home games at Virginia stadiums are exempt from Virginia's overtime pay and minimum wage requirements.
Plain-English summary
Virginia incorporates federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime and minimum wage rules into state law (§§ 40.1-28.8 to -28.12 and § 40.1-29.2). When the FLSA exempts a category of worker, Virginia generally also exempts them, although Virginia provides a state-law remedy for FLSA violations that do not fall within an exemption.
Senator Pillion asked about minor league baseball players on the five MLB-affiliated minor league teams that play home games in Virginia. AG Miyares laid out two parallel FLSA exemptions that apply.
The first is the baseball-specific exemption in 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(19), enacted by Congress as part of the Save America's Pastime Act in 2018. It exempts from overtime any employee employed to play baseball who is compensated by contract for the league's championship season at a weekly rate at least equal to 40 hours at the federal minimum wage. The senator's facts established that all five Virginia teams pay their players a weekly salary during the championship season at or above that threshold. Plain-language application of the statute exempts them from overtime.
The second is the seasonal amusement and recreational establishment exemption in 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(3), which exempts employees of an establishment that is (a) "frequented by the public for its amusement or recreation" and (b) operates either fewer than seven months per year or has a 33-1/3% receipts ratio between its busy and off seasons. Federal courts (Jeffery v. Sarasota White Sox; Hill v. Delaware N. Cos. Sportservice) have held that minor league baseball stadiums meet the amusement-and-recreational test. The senator's facts (championship seasons running April or early April through September) showed each Virginia team operates fewer than seven months annually, so the seasonality test is met. This exemption applies to both overtime and minimum wage (Hamilton v. Tulsa Cnty. Pub. Facilities Authority).
The AG was careful to caveat the opinion: it is dependent on and limited to the facts as presented, and the conclusion can change if the facts are different.
What this means for you
If you are a minor league baseball team operating in Virginia
The legal status of player compensation is stable. Players paid a weekly salary above the federal minimum wage equivalent during the championship season are exempt from overtime and minimum wage under both the baseball-specific exemption and the seasonal amusement exemption. The dual basis gives you redundancy in case one exemption is later limited.
The factual predicate matters. If your operations change (you extend the season past seven months, you pay players hourly rather than a weekly salary, your weekly salary drops below the federal minimum wage equivalent), the analysis could change. Document the operational facts that support both exemptions: contract weekly salaries, championship season start and end dates, and seasonal operation.
The exemption applies to players, not to all team employees. Front office staff, stadium operations workers, and other non-player employees have their own analysis under the FLSA. The seasonal amusement exemption can extend to them if the team's stadium is the qualifying establishment, but that requires its own factual showing.
If you are a minor league baseball player
Your compensation is structured to fit within these exemptions. You do not earn time-and-a-half for overtime, and you do not have a minimum wage claim based on Virginia or federal law, provided your team's weekly salary meets the federal minimum wage equivalent for a 40-hour workweek and your championship season operates within the seasonal limits.
If your team pays you below the weekly threshold, your compensation moves outside the baseball-specific exemption. The seasonal amusement exemption may still apply (especially if the championship season is fewer than seven months), but the analysis becomes more fact-dependent.
If you are a Triple-A or higher player whose championship season is longer (some leagues operate closer to seven months), the seasonal exemption may not apply. The baseball-specific exemption still does, as long as the weekly salary threshold is met.
If you are a sports or employment attorney advising minor league teams
The opinion is a useful reference but is highly fact-specific. The dual-exemption framework is robust against most challenges, but a fact pattern that breaks one prong of either exemption (extending operations past seven months, dropping below the weekly minimum wage equivalent) opens the door to a claim.
Periodically re-check the federal minimum wage. As of the opinion's issuance, $7.25 per hour times 40 hours times the number of weeks in the championship season is the floor. State minimum wages, including Virginia's (which exceeds the federal), do not automatically replace the federal threshold for purposes of § 213(a)(19), which references the federal minimum wage specifically.
If you are a state legislator
The opinion reflects a federal-law-driven outcome. Virginia could in theory adopt minimum wage and overtime rules that do not incorporate the federal exemptions (some states have done this), which would change the analysis. The 2018 Save America's Pastime Act is federal law and would not be displaced by state action with respect to interstate baseball operations, but state non-payment-on-state-grounds claims have been litigated in other contexts.
Common questions
Q: Does this exemption apply to MLB players too, or only minor league?
A: MLB players have their own compensation structure (multi-year guaranteed contracts, collective bargaining, etc.) and are typically well above any minimum wage threshold. The exemptions still apply structurally, but the practical concern is minor league players whose contracts are at or near the threshold.
Q: Does it apply during spring training or the off season?
A: The baseball-specific exemption (29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(19)) applies only during the "championship season." Spring training and off-season activities are not covered. Whether minor league players have a wage and hour claim for spring training is a separate question that has been litigated in federal courts.
Q: Does it apply to coaches, trainers, and other non-player team employees?
A: The baseball-specific exemption applies to "any employee employed to play baseball." Coaches, trainers, and other personnel are not players. The seasonal amusement exemption may apply to them if the team or stadium qualifies as a recreational establishment, but the analysis is fact-specific.
Q: What about independent league players (not MLB-affiliated)?
A: The opinion specifically addresses MLB-affiliated teams. Independent league players may also be covered under § 213(a)(19) if compensated by contract for a championship season at the threshold, and the seasonal amusement exemption applies if the team's stadium meets the criteria. Each independent league team needs its own analysis.
Q: What about the Atlantic League, Frontier League, or other independent leagues operating in Virginia?
A: The same analytical framework applies. If a team operates fewer than seven months in Virginia and pays players a qualifying weekly salary, both exemptions should apply.
Q: Does Virginia's higher state minimum wage override the federal exemption?
A: Virginia's minimum wage statute (§ 40.1-28.9(A)(16)) specifically cross-references the federal exemption: "Any person who is exempt from the federal minimum wage pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(3)" is also exempt from Virginia minimum wage. So Virginia's higher minimum wage does not capture employees who are federally exempt.
Background and statutory framework
The federal exemptions used in this opinion have separate histories. The seasonal amusement and recreational establishment exemption in § 213(a)(3) is part of the original FLSA framework dating to the 1930s and has long covered seasonal operations like amusement parks, summer camps, and minor league baseball stadiums. Federal courts have steadily developed the doctrine; Jeffery (11th Cir. 1995) and Hill (2d Cir. 2016) are key cases.
The baseball-specific exemption in § 213(a)(19) is much newer. Congress enacted it in 2018 as the Save America's Pastime Act, riding on a federal omnibus spending bill. Its background is a wave of class-action litigation by minor league baseball players challenging their wage and hour treatment under the FLSA. The Act's narrow exemption was Congress's response: as long as players are paid a weekly salary during the championship season at the federal minimum wage equivalent for a 40-hour week, they are exempt from overtime regardless of how many hours of baseball-related activity they actually devote.
The Virginia integration of FLSA exemptions reflects the policy choice that Virginia generally follows federal wage and hour rules. Some states have decoupled from FLSA exemptions on certain points; Virginia largely has not. That makes the FLSA exemption analysis directly applicable here.
The dual basis (both exemptions apply) is significant for litigation defense. A claim challenging the application of one exemption can be defeated by the other. The AG's analysis is structured to make that explicit.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Va. Code Ann. § 40.1-29.2 (state-law overtime remedy)
- Va. Code Ann. § 40.1-28.9 (state minimum wage exemptions)
- 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(3) (federal seasonal amusement exemption)
- 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(19) (federal baseball-specific exemption)
- 29 C.F.R. § 779.385 (regulatory definition of amusement or recreational establishment)
Cases:
- Jeffery v. Sarasota White Sox, Inc., 64 F.3d 590 (11th Cir. 1995) (minor league stadium qualifies as amusement establishment)
- Hill v. Delaware N. Cos. Sportservice, Inc., 838 F.3d 281 (2d Cir. 2016) (seasonality requirement)
- Alvarez Perez v. Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club, Inc., 515 F.3d 1150 (11th Cir. 2008) (dual-test framework)
Source
- Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
- Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2022/22-032-Pillion-issued.pdf
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.
COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General
202 North Ninth Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
Fax 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
September 30, 2022
The Honorable Todd E. Pillion
Member, Senate of Virginia
851 French Moore Jr. Boulevard, Suite 178
Abingdon, Virginia 24210
Dear Senator Pillion:
I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.
ISSUES PRESENTED
You ask whether baseball players employed by certain Major League Baseball (MLB) minor league clubs are exempt from Virginia's overtime pay and minimum wage requirements.
RESPONSE
Based on the facts you provide, it is my opinion that baseball players employed by certain MLB minor league clubs are exempt from overtime pay and minimum wage requirements in Virginia. This opinion is dependent on and limited to the facts as you have presented them. This opinion cannot be relied on in the event of any inaccuracies or changes.
FACTS
You relate that there are five MLB minor league baseball teams that hold games at stadiums in Virginia. You advise that, pursuant to contract, the teams pay the players they employ a weekly salary for services performed during the championship season and that such salary is at least equal to the federal minimum wage for a 40-hour workweek. "Championship season" appears to be an industry term of art generally referring to the regular season, but specifically excluding any pre-season training and post-season or exhibition games.
To clarify what constitutes the championship season for each of the teams, you have provided their published game schedules for the 2022 season. The game schedules indicate that the 2022 season began on April 5 or 8, depending on the team, and is scheduled to end on September 11, 18, or 28, depending on the team. You also have provided printouts from the teams' webpages, which reflect that the teams sell tickets to the public to attend these games, either on a game-by-game basis or in packages.
APPLICABLE LAW AND DISCUSSION
- Overtime pay requirements
Virginia law generally does not impose overtime pay requirements beyond the federal standards set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"); however, it provides a state-law remedy for employees of employers that violate applicable FLSA overtime provisions. In determining liability under state law, "all applicable exemptions . . . within the [FLSA] . . . shall apply."
Pertinent to your inquiry, the FLSA provides that overtime pay shall not apply to
any 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) at a rate that is not less than a weekly salary equal to the minimum wage under section 6(a) [i.e., the federal minimum wage] for a workweek of 40 hours, irrespective of the number of hours the employee devotes to baseball related activities.
Your request indicates that all the MLB minor league baseball players in Virginia are compensated by contract for services performed during the championship season with a weekly salary that is at least equal to the federal minimum wage for a workweek of 40 hours. Applying the plain language of this provision to the facts as you have stated them, I conclude that the minor league baseball players in Virginia are exempt from overtime pay requirements.
I note that 29 U.S.C.S. § 213(a)(3), the FLSA provision discussed below that exempts employees of seasonally operated amusement or recreational establishments from minimum wage requirements also applies to overtime pay. Accordingly, to the extent a team qualifies as an eligible establishment, this provision of the FLSA also would exempt the team's players from overtime pay requirements.
- Minimum wage requirements
The Virginia Minimum Wage Act sets forth Virginia's minimum wage requirements. Referencing the FLSA, it provides that "[a]ny person who is exempt from the federal minimum wage pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(3)" also is exempt from Virginia's requirements. In turn, 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(3) provides that, upon certain conditions, "any employee employed by an establishment which is an amusement or recreational establishment" is exempt from the federal minimum wage.
Establishments that are "frequented by the public for its amusement or recreation" are eligible. It is clear, based on the facts presented, that minor league baseball games are amusement or recreational; the games are open to the public, and as noted in the teams' webpages that you have provided, game tickets are sold either on an individual game basis or in packages. Courts have held that minor league baseball establishments qualify as "amusement" or "recreational."
To qualify for exemption from the federal minimum wage, any such establishment also must be able to demonstrate that it operates only on a seasonal basis. There are two ways this seasonality requirement can be met. First, the establishment can show that "during the preceding calendar year, its average receipts for any six months of such year were not more than 33 1/3 per centum of its average receipts for the other six months of such year . . . ." Alternatively, the establishment is deemed seasonal if it can show that it "does not operate for more than seven months in any calendar year . . . ." Accordingly, "an employer qualifies for exemption if it is a recreational and amusement establishment and it also satisfies either the seasonal operation test or the six-month receipts test."
Assuming that the establishments are limited to the presentation of minor league baseball by their respective teams during the championship season at each of the minor league stadiums, then consistent with Jeffery v. Sarasota White Sox, Inc., 64 F.3d 590 (11th Cir. 1995), and based on the schedules presented that demonstrate that the presentation of championship-season minor league baseball games to the public lasts from April through September, each of the five minor league teams would satisfy the seasonal exemption because none of them "operate for more than seven months in any calendar year."
CONCLUSION
Based on the facts provided and based on the assumptions set forth herein, it is my opinion that baseball players employed by certain Major League Baseball (MLB) minor league clubs are exempt from overtime pay and minimum wage requirements in Virginia.
With kindest regards, I am,
Very truly yours,
Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General