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Child Labor Exemption Approved To Keep Hockey Teams In Washington State

Are the 16 to 20 year old players in the Western Hockey League amateurs or professional athletes?
Scott Butner
/
Flickr
Are the 16 to 20 year old players in the Western Hockey League amateurs or professional athletes?

The Washington state House voted 91-7 Wednesday to exempt junior hockey teams from teen labor laws by expressly classifying the players as non-employees.

The four for-profit Western Hockey League teams in Washington, the Spokane Chiefs, Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans and Everett Silvertips are currently being investigated for possible minimum wage, overtime or teen work hour violations.

Republican State Representative Drew MacEwen told his fellow lawmakers their vote could keep junior hockey "alive" in the state.

"This will help preserve amateur athletes in various sports -- not just hockey -- to be able to pursue those dreams and be in compliance with Washington state law,” he said.

No one spoke against the labor law exemption during the state House debate, but afterwards an unofficial players union for junior hockey (@CHLPA2015) tweeted:

@TomBanse Interesting how they amended it this time.. Amusing actually. LOL... Now Washington State is in the business of child exploitation— CHLPA (@CHLPA2015) April 15, 2015

The legislation now goes back to the state Senate for further consideration. The Washington Senate took the league's side the first time the issue came up in their chamber.

The Western Hockey League and its member teams face a separate lawsuit filed in Alberta seeking back wages, unpaid overtime and vacation pay allegedly due to current and former players. That proposed international class action also turns on whether the teenage players should be classified as student athletes or employees.

Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network

Tom Banse
Tom Banse covers national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports and human interest stories from across the Northwest. He reports from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events are unfolding. Tom's stories can be found online and heard on-air during "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.