As millions watched the Super Bowl battle between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, few were aware of the battle taking place off the field. Cheerleaders for the National Football League (NFL) have been fighting back against alleged wage violations—and have recently scored major victories.
Litigation began two years ago, when an Oakland Raiders cheerleader, referenced as “Lacy T,” filed a class action lawsuit against the Raiders for failure to pay minimum wage, overtime, and travel expenses, among other allegations. The complaint asserts that the Raiders cheerleaders (“Raiderettes”) were paid a flat fee of $125 for each home game—regardless of the numbers of hours they were required to practice for, promote, and attend the game. In September 2014, the Raiders agreed to a $1.25 million settlement for Lacy T. and approximately 90 former Raiderettes. Additionally, the team has since offered the cheerleading squad a new contract that pays them $9 per hour. With the cheerleaders working up to approximately 350 hours for a 10-game season, this change essentially tripled their pay.
Since this groundbreaking case, members of four other NFL cheerleading squads have called foul and filed similar wage violation lawsuits. Over the past 16 months, cheerleaders for the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cincinnati Bengals have scored settlements worth a combined total of over $1.4 million. As of last month, cheerleaders for the Buffalo Bills won their motion for class certification, and for now, have resisted the defendant’s assertions that the cheerleaders should be classified as independent contractors.
These lawsuits also compelled state legislatures to tackle the issue. In July 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation requiring that cheerleaders for professional sports teams receive the same rights and benefits as other employees. Similar legislation, titled the Cheerleaders’ Fair Pay Act, is currently pending in New York.
Photo credit: Keith Allison, Creative Commons
