In September, we blogged about the San Francisco Giants’ lousy season. Oh, and also that the team had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages and damages for ripping off clubhouse attendants and other employees making well below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

This month, the Giants fell under renewed scrutiny by the Department of Labor, and they’re joined on this smarmy roster by the Miami Marlins. The investigative news site FairWarning.org reports that possible improper use of unpaid interns is involved in the Giants case, and noted that in addition to the labor issues resolved in September, the Giants had reached a $500,000 settlement in June in a private class-action suit on behalf of security guards who allegedly  were owed back pay for overtime and for working through breaks and meals.

There isn’t much in the story about the Marlins, only an allusion to possible wage law violations. But you gotta wonder–how can major league teams find so much money to pay players and coaches, and come up so short for the back-of-the-house workers?

Major League Baseball isn’t responsible for the labor practices of its individual team members, but since the Giants case, the Wage and Hour Division has been in the  league’s face to help bring teams into wage compliance. A memo last month from the baseball commissioner’s office to  team presidents indicated that the Labor Department had concluded from the first Giants investigation that questionable pay practices “are endemic to our industry.”

Read the whole story on FairWarning.org.