Top Menu

Supreme Court Will Not Hear Miranda v. Selig

Major League Baseball logo

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it is declining to hear Miranda v. Selig, a case concerning Minor League Baseball player wages. 

Originally filed by four minor leaguers in December 2014, Miranda v. Selig is a case in which the plaintiffs have alleged that Major League Baseball has colluded to suppress the wages of minor league players and that its hiring and employment practices violate antitrust laws. The lawsuit was later dismissed by U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr, and Gilliam’s decision was upheld in June of this year by a three-judge panel of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal.

On Monday, the Supreme Court confirmed that it will not consider the case, effectively leaving the previous ruling in place. More from The AP:

U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. dismissed the case the following September, citing the antitrust exemption granted professional baseball by the Supreme Court in 1922 and the failure of Congress to alter it for minor leaguers in the Curt Flood Act of 1998

Gilliam’s decision was upheld this June in a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas, Ferdinand F. Fernandez and Mary H. Murguia.

There is another lawsuit that was introduced by a group of minor league players. That case, Senne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, has been certified as class action, with a focus on players who participated in a California league, instructional league or extended spring training. It alleges that MLB has violated minimum wage laws, and might go to trial in the coming years. Despite the presence of minor leaguers in the lawsuit, MiLB is not a party in the proceedings.

RELATED STORIES: MiLB Player Wages Class Action Suit is BackPlaintiffs Granted Appeal in MLB Wages LawsuitNo Class Action for MiLB Player-Wage Lawsuit–For Now;Debate Rages Over MiLB Overtime LegislationLegislation Would Exempt MiLB Players From Overtime RegsLawsuit seeks more money, freedom for Minor League Baseball players

, ,