Hernandez v. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball

OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Angel Hernandez, a baseball umpire, brings this action against Defendants the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball Blue, Inc. (collectively, “MLB”), asserting claims for employment discrimination under federal and state law. (See Dkt. No. 35; Dkt. No. 123.) He claims that he was passed over for “crew chief” positions and World Series assignments due to unlawful discrimination based on his race, ethnicity and/or national origin. Hernandez has moved for partial summary judgment that he has established his prima facie case as to his disparate treatment and disparate impact claims. (See Dkt. No. 138.) MLB has cross-moved for summary judgment on all of Hernandez’s claims. (See Dkt. Nos. 154, 157, 164.) For the reasons that follow, MLB’s motion for summary judgment is granted and Hernandez’s motion is denied as moot. I. Background A. MLB Major League Umpires MLB employed 68 full-time Major League umpires between 2011 and 2013, and since 2014 it has employed 76 full-time umpires each season. (Dkt. No. 174 (“MLB SOF”)

6-7.) A 2013 MLB document titled “2013 Department Overview” indicated that only seven percent of umpires were racial or ethnic minorities at the time. (Dkt. No. 142-1 (“Hern. SOF”) 5.) For comparison, the same document indicated that 48 percent of NBA referees in 2012 and an estimated 40 percent of NFL referees in 2010 were minorities. (Hern. SOF 7.) Each Major League umpire is assigned to a four-person crew, with one umpire designated crew chief, who leads the other umpires in his crew on the field. (MLB SOF 42.) Between 2011 and 2013, there were 17 permanent crew chief positions each season, and since 2014 there have been 19 such positions. (MLB SOF