Babe Ruth was accused of violating California Labor Law regarding the employment of minors in 1927.
It’s no secret that GovDocs sees the connection between labor law and a variety of topics, including major league baseball. With spring training underway for most teams, we tip our hat to one of baseball’s legends, Babe Ruth, who had a brush with allegations of child labor law violations.
The Sultan of Swat made a lucrative side living with a traveling variety show when he wasn’t filling seats in ballparks. After performing in skits or belting out a few tunes, the Babe invited children on stage and gave them his coveted autograph. In 1927, Ruth was arrested while in Long Beach, California on a warrant for violating State child labor law by using child performers without acquiring work permits. (Deputy State Labor Commissioner Gue apparently wasn’t a New York Yankees fan.) The charge was dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that a child’s appearance on stage did not necessarily constitute employment, nor was the signed baseball they received considered wages by the court.
Deputy State Labor Commissioner Gue took another run at Ruth by issuing a new warrant alleging that Ruth employed children after 10 p.m., which was a violation of State law. Gue struck out again, though, unable to mar Ruth’s record-breaking baseball career with convictions for child labor law violations.
Prior to FLSA’s enactment in 1938, individual U.S. states like California could regulate hours worked and wage requirements for minors. Under the auspices of the FLSA, current federal regulations require all U.S. businesses with at least one employee to display six postings in each workplace location: Federal Minimum Wage, Employee Polygraph Protection, OSHA, FMLA, USERRA, NLRB and EEO. GovDocs offers all required federal postings in one convenient laminated Federal-on-One poster.
