A federal investigation of pay practices among MLB teams has been “expanded to include two more teams" -- the Orioles and A’s -- bringing the number of clubs to four, according to Levin & Silverstein of the K.C. STAR. The Labor Department’s “focus is pay for clubhouse and administrative workers and interns, who in some cases have gotten less than the minimum wage or were not paid time-and-a-half after more than 40 hours of work in a week, as the law requires.” Officials with the department’s Wage & Hour Division “confirmed they are investigating the Orioles and A’s” and disclosed terms of settlements that will require the Marlins and Giants to “give back wages to underpaid workers.” However, federal officials “would not provide details of the Orioles and A’s cases.” U.S. Department of Labor Office of Public Affairs Special Assistant Jason Surbey said that the Marlins “agreed to pay $288,290 in back wages and damages to 39 team employees, including clubhouse and office staff.” Surbey noted that the Marlins' 23 clubhouse workers "were paid $50 a day.” But Surbey added that they “worked as many as 11 hours on game days, and so were not properly paid the minimum wage and overtime.” The settlement with the Giants “involves payment of $220,793 in back wages and damages to 78 employees.” Most were interns who “received stipends but were determined by the agency to have been employees entitled to minimum wage and overtime.” The interns “worked in baseball operations and group sales, among other duties, and were due back wages ranging from $60 to $4,000 apiece” (K.C. STAR, 5/23).
