Bottom Line

• SPORTS. Minor League Baseball (MILB) added a second lobbying firm, Brand Law Group, to its roster recently to handle labor issues. Although disclosure forms are not specific about issues the firm will handle, the league faces a class-action lawsuit filed by former players last year. The suit alleges that Major League Baseball illegally suppressed their salaries in violation of state and federal labor laws. During a December meeting, an MILB official said the league would begin lobbying Congress to exempt minor league players from the list of occupations not covered by overtime and minimum-wage regulations in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). There are currently 35 other jobs not covered under the FLSA. Minor league officials have said that some teams produce small profits, and the added expenses could cause these teams to shut down.

• HEALTHCARE. The National Down Syndrome Society is ramping up its lobbying efforts, signing its third lobby firm. The group registered with firm Capitol Knowledge less than six months after inking with the last firm. The Down Syndrome Society and its other firms — Ariale Strategies and Bockorny Group — were part of a lobbying effort to pass the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, which allows for the use of tax-free savings accounts for children with disabilities. Now, Capitol Knowledge will be working on gaining “support for biomedical research related to Down syndrome,” according to lobbying disclosure forms.  

{mosads}• REGULATIONS. The Grocery Manufacturers Association has successfully fought off federal requirements for labels on food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but the fight does not appear to be over. The group recently hired K&L Gates to lobby on its behalf — bringing its K Street roster up to nine firms — to stop any “federal preemption of GMO labeling.” Former Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) is one of the lobbyists on the account. Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) are lead sponsors of a bill called the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, introduced this month, that would require genetically engineered foods to be labeled as such.