A class action lawsuit has been filed against the 60-team Canadian Hockey League (CHL) which says it is violating the country’s minimum wage laws. The CHL consists of three junior leagues across the nation which supply many players to the NHL each year via an entry draft. The league is made up of the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). There are also several American-based clubs belonging to the CHL.

The $180 million lawsuit claims that the three leagues are paying their players less than minimum wage and it was filed by lawyer Ted Charney on behalf of former junior player Sam Berg. The young man played with the Niagara IceDogs of the OHL, but his career was cut short after suffering a serious injury. Charney claims that all CHL hockey players have to sign contracts which require them to put in fulltime hours for their clubs in the form of practices, games and traveling, but they’re paid just a maximum of $50 per week.

Charney remarked that players spend at least four or five hours per day on team functions seven days a week, but aren’t properly compensated for it. According to Berg, who is now a fulltime student, the CHL is exploiting young hockey players for their own gain. He said the CHL sells tickets to its games, but the players aren’t compensated properly for their hard work. Berg added that when players can’t be used anymore due to injuries of their age, then the league more or less kicks them to the side of the road. He claimed that the work is being put in by the players, but the pay isn’t there.

Players in the CHL are aged between 16 and 20 and according to the league, those who are 19 and under are paid $470 per month and 20-ywar-olds receive up to $900. The league also claims that players are supplied with sticks, skates and equipment. But as Charney pointed out, those are simply costs of doing business. The CHL and its president David Branch also remarked that it offers scholarships and insurance to players among other things since the players are amateurs and independent contractors. The lawsuit added that the hockey leagues are making a profit due to ticket sales, marketing deals and television-broadcasting contracts while the players aren’t receiving their fair share.