American law puts down "Rekkles"
Isn't allowed to have League of Legends as a career - until he turns 17
One of Sweden's hottest names in the E-sports scene right now is Martin "Rekkles" Larsson.
This weekend, "Rekkles" wants to win yet another gold medal, but that medal could be his last for a long while. The international "League of Legends" team Fnatic won both Dreamhack Winter and Thor Open over the course of just a few weeks. When Intel Extreme Masters is settled in Cologne this weekend - with a prize pool of over 400 000 swedish kronor up for grabs - Fnatic is yet again among the favourites to win.
-- We have a good team and a good shot at the finals. We also have a good chance of winning, says Fnatic's Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, 16, from Älvängen just outside Gothenburg. "Rekkles" is highly motivated to win IEM, as the tournament could be his last until next September.
-- Next year, I won't get to play until I turn 17, Larsson says.
Biggest prize pool in history
This August, Riot Games - the "League of Legends" developers who are extremely keen to establish their game as a major e-sport - announced that they would begin paying salaries to eight of the best teams in the world. Riot boasted not only about their Championship Series league, which would be launched wtih the biggest prize pool in history as well as high-definition TV broadcasts every week, but also that the salaries "would be a stable choice for professional e-sports players."
"Perhaps the best in Europe"
For Martin Larsson, however, the career is far from stable so far. Under U.S. law, he must have reached the age of 17 to engage in what would be classed as a full time job. Of course, there's a small risk that Fnatic won't qualify for Riot's Championship Series.
-- I think we're going to qualify, though, seeing as we're perhaps the best team in Europe right now, "Rekkles" says.
If the rules could've been circumvented, Martin had been planning to take a sabbatical from his studies at IT-gymnasiet in Gothenburg. After this weekend, though, he'll have to swap the crowded arenas for classrooms.
Straight from the US Department of Labor Website...
The Federal youth employment provisions do not: require minors to obtain "working papers" or "work permits," though many States do; restrict the number of hours or times of day that workers 16 years of age and older may be employed, though many States do; apply where no FLSA employment relationship exists; regulate or require such things as breaks, meal periods, or fringe benefits; regulate such issues as discrimination, harassment, verbal or physical abuse, or morality, though other Federal and State laws may.
So I'm guessing the problem lies in actually getting him a Work Visa.
FEDERAL LAW
The main law regulating child labor in the United States is the Fair Labor Standards Act. In general, for non-agricultural jobs, children under 12 may not be employed, children between 12 and 16 may be employed in allowed occupations during limited hours, and children between 16 and 18 may be employed for unlimited hours in non-hazardous occupations. [1] A number of exceptions to these rules exist, such as for employment by parents, newspaper delivery, and child actors. [1] The regulations for agricultural employment are generally more lenient. Children as young as 12 may be employed unlimited hours outside of school hours with parental permission. Children under 16 may not be involved in hazardous tasks
Y esto escribió Marcou "1.3.2 Age
All players must submit proof that they will be 17 years or older as of February 8, 2013."
Conclusión: Es peligroso trabajar para Riot xd