Professional athletes and the organizations that employ them are accustomed to dealing with referees, umpires, and other officials who apply the rules and blow their whistles when infractions occur. Although there may be a designated hitter in one league but not the other, teams always know which rules apply before the game begins. Knowing which rules apply may not be so predictable, however, when the action moves into a courtroom.

Professional athletes in team sports sign with or are assigned to a team that identifies itself with the city in which it plays. Most teams expect that the law of their home states will govern the employment of their players. This would seem logical, even though half of the time teams play away games in other states against teams located in those jurisdictions. As many teams have learned in recent years, if they think they know what law applies to their players, they may be disappointed.

Under California’s workers’ compensation law, compensable injuries include both typical accidental injuries that are suddenly disabling, as well as cumulative injuries that result from repetitive, traumatic activities over an extended period that eventually require medical treatment. California’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) has ruled that the definition of cumulative trauma covers the regular activities of professional athletes, and therefore players must be compensated for the disabling conditions they experience due to the physical activities in which they engaged over the course of their careers. Although California law requires a workers’ compensation claim to be filed within one year from the date when an employee should have known his cumulative trauma was caused by employment, the deadline for filing does not begin to run until an employee is notified by his employer of his right to make a claim under California law. Consequently, an employer’s failure to deliver the required notice means that decades can pass after a career ends, and a timely cumulative injury claim can still be filed. Like all employers in California, professional sports teams located there are expected to know and comply with the law. But in the absence of a specific injury in California, unsuspecting out-of-state teams would seem to have no reason to advise players of workers’ compensation rights relating to alleged cumulative traumas. Nevertheless, recent WCAB decisions have affirmed that the coverage of California’s workers’ compensation law extends to players who make a cumulative injury claim in California though they only played a few games in that state. The WCAB has asserted jurisdiction over and awarded benefits to numerous professional athletes who played a single game in California, and retired long before asserting their claim. See, e.g., TIG Insurance Co. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd., 72 Cal. Comp. Cases 536. Some teams have no insurance for such claims, and many have no records relating to such stale events. According to a recent New York Times report, more than 700 players are pursuing cumulative injury claims in California.

In Washington, DC, there has been a parallel development in defining the applicability of the District of Columbia’s workers’ compensation law to minor league players. In a case involving a player who was assigned to play in the minor leagues after signing with the Washington Capitals, the DC Court of Appeals ruled that although the player was injured in Quebec while playing for a minor league team headquartered in Maine, his workers’ compensation claim was covered by the District of Columbia workers’ compensation law because the player aspired to play for the major league team that had signed him. The court deemed playing in the minors with the hope of some day being promoted to be the functional equivalent of major league players who practice outside of Washington preparing to play in home games for a Washington-based major league franchise. See Lincoln Hockey, LLC v. Dept. of Empl. Servs., No. 08-AA-1476.

These cases point to a vexing issue confronting professional sports organizations: determining whether they must comply with workers’ compensation or other employment regulations in any of the numerous jurisdictions on the teams’ schedule. It should be no surprise that professional athletes, their agents and unions will endeavor to assert rights and claims under the unique laws of any of the locales in which they play. Teams should analyze the multiple and potentially conflicting obligations of these state laws and develop strategies for complying with such laws, in an effort to avoid exposure to claims that may be asserted currently, or after many years.

For additional information, please contact:
Stewart S. Manela
202.857.6364 Direct | 202.857.6395 Fax
manela.stewart@arentfox.com

Stu Manela is the Practice Group Leader of the Labor, Employment, OSHA and Immigration Practice of Arent Fox LLP. He has represented and advised the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards in workers’ compensation, grievances, arbitrations, and other matters.

About Arent Fox’s Sports Practice:
Arent Fox’s sports practice is one of the most experienced in the United States. Our attorneys have extensive knowledge in sports sales and acquisitions, stadium/arena developments, and sports naming/sponsorship rights. They regularly advise on labor and employment contracts for players, coaches and sports team executives. Our team is active in almost all of the major professional sports and our attorneys have served as counsel to various professional teams, including the Washington Wizards, the Atlanta Spirit, the Charlotte Bobcats, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Jets, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Washington Capitals, and the DC United. Arent Fox also has advised numerous purchasers and sellers of professional teams and events. In addition, we have advised entities on both sides of major naming rights and sponsorship transactions, such as the Barclays Center, Time Warner Cable Arena, AT&T Park, and PPL Park.

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About Arent Fox:
Arent Fox LLP, with offices in Washington, DC, New York and Los Angeles is a recognized leader in areas including sports, real estate, telecommunications, intellectual property, life sciences, health care, automotive, white collar, and complex litigation. With more than 350 lawyers nationwide, the firm represents Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, trade associations, foreign governments, and other entities.