WotC Being Sued By Magic: the Gathering Judges

Wizards of the Coast, which, as you likely know, produces the enormous collectible card game Magic: The Gathering (as well as RPGs like D&D) is on the end of a class action lawsuit filed by a small group of M:tG judges (Adam Shaw, Peter Golightly, Justin Turner, and Joshua Stansfield). The suit alleges that WotC failed to pay minimum wage, provide meal or rest breaks, reimburse business expenses, maintain accurate payroll records, and more. M:tG judges are volunteers, but the filing appears to allege that the degree of supervision and control exercised by WotC was enough to create an employer-employee relationship instead. The M:tG judges are demanding a jury trial.

Click on the image for the full 23-page document
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[Jester David]

What do MtG judges do? Are they at cons or stores?

 

[sidonunspa]

What do MtG judges do? Are they at cons or stores?

Both....

 

[AriochQ]

I would guess this is relating to convention/tournament judges. I have a friend I used to push mini's with and was surprised to read on a FB post that WoTC was flying him across the country to judge at a big tournament. I had always assumed it was more 'volunteer' and less 'professional'. I am not surprised by this, MtG is clearly raking in the money and top level judging can't be easy. They pay boxing refs, NFL officials, etc., so why not MtG judges?

 

[Chimpy]

I'm sure there is no need to take this to court. Seems like something blown out of all proportion. Unfortunately we seem to live in a culture where lawsuits are a seen as normal.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

I'll bet that this is the final step in a long process of attempting to come to an agreement without any success. I'm honestly shocked that they weren't actual employees....even a temp/seasonal designation of some kind.

 

[D&Dsince76]

I noticed that WOtC has job listings for the following:

Director: Organized Play, Premier Play, & eSports
and
Manager: Premier Play Business Operations

Both are Magic-oriented... related?

Bill W.

 

[ShadowCat5]

If they volunteered I don't see what grounds they can stand on. Unless more information comes to light, I am siding with WotC on this one.

 

[Morrus]

If they volunteered I don't see what grounds they can stand on. Unless more information comes to light, I am siding with WotC on this one.

As far as I can make out (and I'm no lawyer) the argument is that under certain conditions, a voluntary arrangement meets the qualifications for an employer-employee relationship, regardless of whether it was labelled voluntary; and the plaintiffs, and their lawyers, feel that the way WotC conducted the program met those conditions as defined in certain statutes and existing labour laws.

Whether a jury will agree that those conditions were met is another matter. I guess we'll find out! But it's clearly not just a trivial "oh it says 'voluntary' - case closed!" situation. The case hinges on a lot more than the usage of that one word.

 

[TheSwartz]

I'm sure there is no need to take this to court. Seems like something blown out of all proportion. Unfortunately we seem to live in a culture where lawsuits are a [sic] seen as normal.

My thoughts exactly.