Minor league baseball players exempted from minimum wage and overtime requirements.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by María Isa Pérez-Vega

Minnesota would exempt minor league baseball players from state minimum wage and overtime if their contract is governed by a CBA that sets wages and working conditions.

Introduction and first reading, referred to Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

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Purpose and intent

The bill seeks to exempt minor league baseball players from Minnesota’s minimum wage and overtime protections.

The stated aim is to align state labor standards with the unique, often developmental, nature of professional baseball pathways and the terms already established through the players’ collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).

Key provisions and changes

Section amended: Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 177.23, subdivision 7 (definition of “employee”).

Main change: add a new explicit exemption:

Subdivision amendment (21): An individual who has entered into a contract to play baseball at the minor league level and who is compensated according to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for wages and working conditions is not an “employee” for the purposes of the state wage and hour law.

Other existing exemptions to the “employee” definition remain unchanged, including:

Various agricultural, non-profit, governmental, and other sector-specific carve-outs.
Exemptions for executives, administrative/professional staff, certain drivers, babysitters, seasonal camp staff, seafarers, certain municipal employees, etc.

Effective date: The exemption becomes effective the day after the bill’s final enactment.

Who would be affected

Minor league baseball players who:

Have signed a contract to play at the minor league level, and
Are compensated under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that explicitly governs wages and working conditions.

As a result, these players would not be subject to Minnesota’s minimum wage and overtime requirements during the period covered by the CBA terms for wages and working conditions.

Procedural and timeline considerations

Current status: The bill was introduced (HF No. 4952) and referred to the Committee on Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy for consideration.

Schedule: As of the provided text, no floor passage or enacted status is indicated beyond referral and first reading.

Legislative text date: The revisor’s draft date noted is 03/19/26; author is Rep. Pérez-Vega (sponsor), with co-sponsor María Isa Pérez-Vega.

Practical impact and considerations

Enforcement implications: Employers in Minnesota that employ minor league players under a CBA would not be required to pay minimum wage or overtime under state law to those players, provided the CBA covers wages and working conditions as specified.

Preemption or interaction with federal law: The exemption relies on federal labor standards for interceding components (CBAs) versus state wage and hour requirements; players would remain subject to any applicable federal wage and hour laws where relevant, and to the terms of their CBA.

Broader policy context: The bill would narrow state labor protections for a specialized labor group, potentially shifting costs and compensation structures to the CBAs and teams within minor league baseball.

If you’d like, I can compare this proposal to existing Minnesota wage-and-hour exemptions or summarize potential fiscal and labor market implications in more detail.

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