Overtime pay for US Open umpires at issue

Claiming they were misclassified as independent contractors, four US Open umpires have filed a class action lawsuit against the US Tennis Association seeking overtime pay, Bloomberg reports. According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit claims “[u]mpires were paid based upon a schedule set and dictated by defendant … Umpires regularly worked in excess of 40 hours per week, but were not properly paid wages due them including but not limited to overtime for hours in excess of 40 hours per week.” The named plaintiffs -- Steven Meyer, Marc Bell, Larry Mulligan-Gibbs and Aimee Johnson -- claim USTA acts as an employer because it hires, sets pay and hours, and governs umpire conduct. Umpires are currently paid between $115 and $200 per day for their work at the US Open.

Four U.S. Open umpires sue U.S. Tennis Association demanding overtime pay, Bloomberg.com, 8 Sep 2011.