I know that some of you who are knowledgeable about these things have mentioned that things aren’t always as they appear with some of the BIG name trainers. And, you were RIGHT!
I saw this. He has agreed to pay the back pay and fines ($1.6M).
My only thought when I saw this besides that Brown maybe wasn’t as squeaky clean as he might have appeared is what other BNT have been doing the same thing (violating FLSA). I just can’t believe he’s the only one or it seems as though his employee would have bailed and got to work for someone else on the backstretch.
Maybe Brown is just the first one to get caught. Does this excuse what he did? Not in my book.
How is knowing this going to benefit anyone on COTH? Are we looking for jobs as hot walkers, etc.? Are our kids just starting out in the horse world wanting to work for trainers like Chad Brown? Is broadcasting this really going to affect any of our lives? Maybe those of us eventing OTTBs that were hot-walked in overtime by a former Chad Brown employee …
I dunno. How do any of your threads benefit anyone on COTH? It’s information about a trainer of race horses- who is high profile- on the racing forum. Thank you very much! :lol:
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Using the metric of benefit to COTH readers… many of the topics posted in the Racing forum would not fit the description :lol:
Not sure that Maximum Security getting set down benefited many on COTH (unless anyone had a live bet on him) or Luis Saez’s suspension benefited anyone on COTH (unless there is someone who was planning on having Saez ride their race horse) but they still got talked about 
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It benefits us because it gives us something interesting and racing-related to talk about. Isn’t that enough?
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Rackonteur you participate in a show name thread and turn around and whine about this thread as being irrelevant? I mean the hypocrisy, it hurts.
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I wonder how he got singled out for this? People have obiously been looking the other way on illegal immigrant employees not just in the racing industry but in construction, etc. Will be interesting to see the impact of people having to follow laws.
It is a shame that people take advantage of their employees like he has, and I agree, it’s unlikely he’s the only one that has done so.
Without re-reading the article again, wasn’t there mention that the employees were legally in the U.S. on work permits or green cards? Whatever, he certainly screwed a lot of them out of a lot of wages that were due them. Hope they nail everybody who is playing this “game.” It only emphasizes the public’s preconceptions of being a “seedy” industry.
You should see what goes on with illegal immigrants in the construction industry. And they are building houses.
I always thought that Brown looked like a sleezeball. Yes, @betonbill his employees were here on work permits. But let’s be honest; when was the last time anyone saw Electronic timeclocks or any timeclocks in the shed row. We all know Lukas has a history of running a business the proper way and he has been known for along time to utilize a time clock and manage overtime hours.
EVERY barn on the backside should be run this way. With timeclocks and rules on overtime, etc. If the trainer doesn’t want to manage that aspect of the business then he/she needs to find someone who can do it for them. Otherwise; this is just setting themselves up for scenario ChadBrown2.0 and they deserve to be set down for it. I am willing to bet that most trainers on the backside who operate a business do not follow labor laws
@saratoga I am sure he was singled out because a few employees banded together and reported him which followed with an investigation.
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And in restaurants, landscapers, housekeeping services, car washes etc.
That is not to defend Chad Brown but this isn’t just a racing story.
Here’s the actual complaint
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/WHD20190560a.pdf
My reading is that it is mainly a failure to pay overtime. My other thought when I read it is that there is a fundamental culture issue here. Grooms aren’t “groomers” like they work in a shop somewhere. These are essentially agriculture jobs that aren’t classified that way. Therefore the agriculture rules which are far more lenient on overtime issues don’t apply. So Brown is being penalized as though he runs Walmart with punch clocks, 15 minute breaks, and OT rules spelled out in a handbook. Of course that has never been the culture of the backstretch.
That does not excuse Chad Brown. Someone in his position has the wherewithal to get it right or hire someone. But it is cultures clashing that led to this I think rather than some instrinsic evil in the man.
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If you think this is just a racing issue you are delusional and you are giving more proof that you are hell bent on demonizing the racing industry. You come off as being totally ignorant about the racing industry and the horse industry in general.
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So then it’s all right to go ahead and not pay your employees overtime wages when they work in excess of 40 hours/week? And if you complain it further demonizes the racing industry? I really think it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to sit down and figure out the average number of hours a groom or hot walker or anyone else works per day/week and figure their pay accordingly. Now if one figures the average and pays that, then perhaps some might be slightly over/under paid but would probably come out ahead of what they were currently giving. People are always commenting on how underpaid track employees are–maybe this is partially why. A million+ dollars is one hell of a lot of underpaying employees–no wonder they complained.
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It’s complicated. Some trainers pay salary, some pay per diem, and most pay a combo. So grooms are supposed to be in the barn at 5:30, and work until they are done, usually some time between 10 AM and 11 AM. There is a rotating schedule of afternoon feed, so sometimes they come back at 3 PM and do about an hours worth of work a couple days a week. It’s a 365 day/year operation, so most work weekends and holidays. Exercise riders may be on salary, may get paid per diem. If the track is closed for inclement weather or any other reason, they may come in and do other stuff, or they may stay home. It depends on the trainers. Hotwalkers are usually there every day, and may be salary, or may get paid a per diem. What about racing days? If the races are at the home track, the groom can leave for a while, and return to the barn X hours before the race to do what needs to be done with the horse. If the race is at an away track, the groom has to ship with the horse and stay with the horse all day (or night) and then ship back and settle the horse down for the night. What about when a horse travels overnight, or for days at a time? On race days, there is a whole lot of waiting around, where the track may require someone be present with the horse, but there is nothing to do, so that someone is literally sitting on a chair playing with his or her phone.
You can’t “average” hours for a non-exempt employee. You have to track them. Salaried employees are usually exempt, although I think they need to earn a minimum salary.
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Snaffle has never worked in the racing industry or held any type of license in any capacity. I wish he or she would though, because apparently it’s that easy. We could use that little snap of the fingers to fix all the problems.
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Thanks for summarizing this. I was wondering why grooms wouldn’t fall under H2A . Which is for agricultural guest workers. Seems like the H2A regulations make more sense for working with racehorses than H2B.
A few dairies around me and most orchards rely on H2A workers and I know they are regularly inspected. Might be different when there is travel involved.
where did I say that this was only a racing issue? You’re putting words in my mouth. Its clearly not. But this is a racing forum and we are talking about racing issues; specifically the chad brown debacle
And I am not clueless about the racing industry or the horse industry. this is a known problem and every equine business owner who does it is in violation of labor laws. Yes, they are doing things illegal and screwing their employees. Time to fix the mess. this isn’t 1940 anymore.
The same issue exists in agriculture and construction and many other fields of blue collar manual labor that Americans refuse to do. Shame on the employers. But take that topic to off topic if you want to discuss other industries
Huh, what exactly does a ‘sleezeball’ look like so I know how to identify more of them?
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