One Major League Baseball All-Star Game volunteer doesn’t think he got paid enough for working at this year’s FanFest event. In fact, he didn’t get paid at all.
A lawsuit was filed on behalf of John Chen, a volunteer at this year’s All-Star Game, in Manhattan federal court Wednesday claiming that Major League Baseball “violated federal and state minimum wage laws” by not paying close to 2,000 volunteers at this year’s All-Star Game FanFest, according to The Associated Press. The suit asks for lost wages and urges a judge to make the league stop accepting work from unpaid volunteers.
The apparent issue arose when the league recruited volunteers to operate 40 attractions at the FanFest, which was billed as “the largest interactive baseball theme park in the world” and “baseball heaven on earth.” The suit alleges that federal and state minimum wage laws were violated because the volunteers didn’t get paid.
The volunteers didn’t get All-Star Game admission for their deeds, but they were given the chance to win a pair of tickets if they worked three shifts at any of the All-Star events. They were given a free T-Shirt, a cap, a clinch drawstring backpack, free admission to the FanFest for the volunteer and one guest along with a water bottle and a baseball, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also noted that Major League Baseball boasted that the 2013 All-Star Game and related events, including FanFest, had generated about $191.5 million for the New York City.
“None of these millions of dollars, however, ended up in the pockets of the New Yorkers whom MLB recruited to provide the labor necessary to prepare for and run FanFest and other All-Star Game events,” the lawsuit said.
Photo via Facebook/MLB All-Star Game
