PA Interscholastic Athletic Association Misclassified Thousands of Sports Officials, Lawsuit Alleges

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Two plaintiffs have filed a proposed class and collective action against the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) in which the men claim they and other sports officials were misclassified as independent contractors. The 14-page complaint alleges the PIAA has not paid the more than 13,200 sports officials for time spent in meetings, traveling, and training – notwithstanding pre- and post-game work and expenses for uniforms and uniform care – or for overtime hours.

“In certain weeks, the PIAA does not pay the Class Members anything at all, but requires attendance at PIAA events. This is a clear violation of the [Fair Labor Standards Act] and [Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act’s] minimum wage requirements,” the lawsuit reads.

The plaintiffs, both long-time PIAA workers still with the organization, claim they were compensated on a per-game basis with no wages for additional work duties or overtime. The complaint, which argues the existence of a clear employer-employee relationship between the proposed class and the defendant, uses two meetings that took place in November—one concerning basketball rules, the other a football chapter meeting—as an example of the defendant’s supposed FLSA violations. The plaintiffs say proposed class members attended these events, which involved no officiating duties, but received no compensation.