More than 1,000 minor league baseball players have signed a petition requesting that Major League Baseball teams provide players with payment for spring training.
The petition — organized by Advocates for Minor Leaguers and submitted to MLB on Thursday — follows a federal court ruling in March that said minor leaguers are year-round employees and also found that MLB violated Arizona state minimum wage laws and is liable for triple damages.
MLB, which told ESPN it was unable to comment on "ongoing litigation," has argued that minor leaguers are seasonal employees, akin to creative artists, making them exempt from minimum wage laws. The court case found that minor leaguers performed the legal definition of work during spring training in Arizona and Florida and therefore should be paid as such.