Any Getting paid for forfeits

[JoePaterno]

Scenario: You are scheduled to umpire four games on a field tonight. You get a call from the league director saying that the first game of the night is going to be a forfeit, so you don't need to show up until the second game.

Questions;

1) Do you feel you should be paid for the first game even though you will not be at the field.

2) If yes to the first question, how much should you be paid?

 

[BretMan]

No, if you were contacted ahead of time and told the game would be cancelled, you probably shouldn't get paid for it.

On the other hand, if you weren't called ahead of time and are at the field waiting to start, then yes, you should be paid.

This varies a lot from league to league. It's always a good idea for the league to make the payment deguidelines known BEFORE it becomes an issue. I've had this handled so many different ways by different leagues that there really isn't any standard answer.

 

[Kabbie]

if you are contacted beforehand, no big deal you get your pay for three games... however if you were not contacted before hand and your at the field ready to umpire and it is the forfeit.... Paid for the game.

 

[NCASAUmp]

I agree with BretMan and Kabbie. This is usually spelled out in whatever contract your assignor has with the league, but that's how my association has handled it.

 

[MaverickAH]

I agree with BretMan and Kabbie. This is usually spelled out in whatever contract your assignor has with the league, but that's how my association has handled it.

^^^This is the crux of this discussion.

Things are handled a little differently here:
Forfeits are always paid.
Cancellations are not.
If we are not notified at least 1 1/2 hours before game time, we are always paid irregardless of reason.

 

[EAJuggalo]

I get paid for all forfeits regardless of whether or not it is known to me beforehand. The teams have paid the city and we got scheduled, we should get paid. Change the scenario a little bit, what if it was the second game of a four game set? You're still required to be there.

 

[SammyJaxxx]

I get paid for all forfeits regardless of whether or not it is known to me beforehand. The teams have paid the city and we got scheduled, we should get paid. Change the scenario a little bit, what if it was the second game of a four game set? You're still required to be there.

What if it is the fourth game of the night and you are told after the second game that the 4th game is cancelled?

 

[AH23]

If we are notified beforehand and aren't at the field not paid, no big deal, first game. If forfeits happens we will jump over to work two man on another field to get paid. Don't work the two man, don't get paid. If no other games going (haven't run into this) I'm assuming we'd get paid if it's not the last game of the night.

 

[AH23]

What if it is the fourth game of the night and you are told after the second game that the 4th game is cancelled?

If the fourth game is the last game, you're not losing any of your time, go home, no pay. In my post we would have the option of going home on that fourth game without pay, or jumping on to another field and work two man for full pay.

 

[MaverickAH]

What if it is the fourth game of the night and you are told after the second game that the 4th game is cancelled?

Still get paid if it's a forfeit.

Think of it this way:

If the game goes on the books as a completed game (there's a winner & a loser), be it by forfeit, weather shortened or whatever, we are paid for it.

A cancelled game is a different story. That means there was no game at all. It's either going to be played at a later date or wiped out completely (depending on how a league chooses to handle it).

 

[matt6195]

Scenario: You are scheduled to umpire four games on a field tonight. You get a call from the league director saying that the first game of the night is going to be a forfeit, so you don't need to show up until the second game.

Questions;

1) Do you feel you should be paid for the first game even though you will not be at the field.

2) If yes to the first question, how much should you be paid?

Our league does 24 notice. If you don't give 24 hour notice the umps get paid and the team forfeiting has to pay $50 to the league.

 

[Kabbie]

What if it is the fourth game of the night and you are told after the second game that the 4th game is cancelled?

Paid you're at the field already

 

[sjury]

Each league has their own policies.

 

[NCASAUmp]

If the fourth game is the last game, you're not losing any of your time, go home, no pay. In my post we would have the option of going home on that fourth game without pay, or jumping on to another field and work two man for full pay.

Contrary to popular belief, umpires have their own lives. We set aside a lot of our time that we could spend with our kids, wives, girlfriends, and so on, just so we can put up with your BS out on the field. We could have made plans for that hour, but we gave up that time for you.

The least you could do is respect us for it by friggin' paying us for it anyway. Either way, the money's accounted for.

And that's not directed at you specifically, but at softball teams in general.

 

[joncon]

The teams have paid the city and we got scheduled, we should get paid. .

Very good point.

 

[AH23]

Contrary to popular belief, umpires have their own lives. We set aside a lot of our time that we could spend with our kids, wives, girlfriends, and so on, just so we can put up with your BS out on the field. We could have made plans for that hour, but we gave up that time for you.

The least you could do is respect us for it by friggin' paying us for it anyway. Either way, the money's accounted for.

And that's not directed at you specifically, but at softball teams in general.

I agree. The teams have paid for the umps and if we're there, I think we should be paid also. Not our fault teams didn't show. Bonus money for the league I guess.......

 

[EAJuggalo]

Twice this year I've gotten paid for rain delays as well. When the LD won't make a decision to call the games and keeps the umps for more than 30 minutes we get paid for another game. Really pisses me off when I think I'm going to get home in time to tuck my two year old into bed but can't because the LD thinks we should have the guys play in a wading pool.

 

[MaverickAH]

Twice this year I've gotten paid for rain delays as well. When the LD won't make a decision to call the games and keeps the umps for more than 30 minutes we get paid for another game. Really pisses me off when I think I'm going to get home in time to tuck my two year old into bed but can't because the LD thinks we should have the guys play in a wading pool.

I can definitely relate to your frustration!

Very often though, LD's are under pressure to get games in due to limitations in permits & field availability. I can't speak for anywhere else but here, the city controls all field permits. It can get really complicated at times.

Let's say that your league plays on Saturdays from April to the end of August. This means that you have X amount of Saturdays over that time so the city will issue you X amount of permits (1 for each individual Saturday). You leave yourself a few open dates to cover for weather issues & such. If you run into more bad weather than normal you may find yourself in a crunch to finish your regular season & playoffs. Let's not even talk about the city having the authority to pull any one or multiple of those individual permits at any point in time! Imagine showing up to the field only to find out that some big shot decided that they wanted it for their daughter's birthday party! (It's happened!)

Add to this the fact that some fields have finite closing dates (usually Labor Day) & you can have even more issues when it comes to getting games in. If we've had a particularly bad year with the weather, maybe you can get them to extend the date about 2 weeks but I've never seen more than that.

For the most part being a LD is a thankless job. There is a lot of detail to it that teams/players don't think about. Sort of like umpiring............

 

[NCASAUmp]

Player safety should never be sacrificed for the sake of finishing a season. If it's not safe to play, it's not safe to play. It's an outdoor sport subject to the weather. It happens.

 

[KAPTHAT]

Contrary to popular belief, umpires have their own lives. We set aside a lot of our time that we could spend with our kids, wives, girlfriends, and so on, just so we can put up with your BS out on the field. We could have made plans for that hour, but we gave up that time for you.

The least you could do is respect us for it by friggin' paying us for it anyway. Either way, the money's accounted for.

And that's not directed at you specifically, but at softball teams in general.

absolutely agree