Minor league players could be stripped of the protection of federal minimum wage laws under a provision in government spending legislation expected to be approved by Congress this week.

Players in the minor leagues can make as little as $5,500 a season.

The "Save America's Pastime Act" is included on a $1.3 trillion spending bill and appears to pre-empt a lawsuit filed four years ago by three players alleging Major League Baseball and its teams violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and state minimum wage and overtime requirements for a work week they estimated at 50-to-60 hours.

The provision in the legislation would exempt "any employee employed to play baseball who is compensated pursuant to a contract that provides for a weekly salary for services performed during the league's championship season (but not spring training or the offseason) at a rate that is not less than a weekly salary equal to the minimum wage ... for a workweek of 40 hours, irrespective of the number of hours the employee devotes to baseball related activities."

The House approved the spending bill Thursday and the legislation appears likely to be approved by the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump.