Town Supervisor

Public Statement Regarding Sports Leagues Employment
Of
Individuals Under 14 Years Of Age

Supervisor Barrett has been made aware of a very concerning situation involving sports leagues and organizations in Saratoga County and undoubtedly throughout New York State. The NYS Department of Labor has conducted at least one recent, multi-month audit of organizations that provide competitive sports opportunities for multiple age levels of youth sports. The audit made it clear sports leagues, or any other type of organization cannot employ individuals under the age of 14. In the context of sports, referees, umpires or field judges under the age of 14 are not allowed to be employed to serve in these capacities. Fines have been levied and the audit also ordered back pay to dozens of youth referees who have served in past years.

We understand rules are in place and must be followed by all organizations. However, many leagues and organizations related to sports utilize youth under 14 to oversee competitive games. This has been true for decades. For many organizations, most of their referees are under the age of 14. The referees are trained, learn responsibility, gain experience and are able to make a few bucks. If sports organizations can no longer have referees under the age of 14, it will severely limit their ability to offer competitive opportunities for our children. We often hear there is generally a severe shortage of referees for all levels of youth sports. The inability to utilize referees under the age of 14, will further minimize the pool of referees and place youth sports in a very compromised position.

NYS law pertaining to the employment of individuals under the age of 14, provides exceptions including for child models, child performers, newspaper delivery and farm work. We urge NYS to also include an exemption for referees, umpires and field judges. We understand all other rules currently in place relating to the employment of people in NYS, should be followed. By adding this exception to NYS law our sports organizations across the state can continue to maximize competitive opportunities for our children, while having the confidence they are following the law. We also ask any financial penalties collected by NYS due to audits conducted on sports organizations, based on their use of referees under the age of 14 be returned to the organizations by NYS.

We thank our NYS legislators, DOL leadership and Governor Hochul in advance for their consideration as they review this vital issue. Town Supervisor Phil Barrett and Deputy Supervisor Anthony Morelli both have children who worked in these capacities. They are keenly aware of the benefit to their children, the sports leagues and competitors in the program resulting from the opportunity to serve as a referee at a young age.