NFL Cheerleaders have been fighting for fair pay for awhile now, and for one team, their hard work has finally paid off. A class action lawsuit involving 90 former Oakland Raiders cheerleaders and their pursuit of fair pay was settled way back in 2014 for $1.25 million, but now the cheerleaders are finally being able to “collect the money this week.”
NFL Cheerleaders have been fighting for fair pay for awhile now, and for one team, their hard work has finally paid off. A class action lawsuit involving 90 former Oakland Raiders cheerleaders and their pursuit of fair pay was settled way back in 2014 for $1.25 million, but now the cheerleaders are finally being able to “collect the money this week.”
The lawsuit itself, which was filed back in January of 2014, was filed because the cheerleaders claimed “they were paid less than minimum wage — just $125 a day — and denied overtime pay despite working nine-hour days with no lunch break, all while not being reimbursed for business expenses from 2010 to 2014.” They also claimed they were routinely “docked pay for petty infractions like wearing the wrong shade of nail polish.”
When asked about the lawsuit, attorney Sharon Vinick said in a statement:
“Our clients have now been paid the equivalent of minimum wage for all of the hours they worked and have been reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses. It is important to note that paying these women minimum wage doesn’t represent the value that these hard-working women bring to the Game Day Experience.”
Though the identities of the 90 cheerleaders are being kept private, many danced as “Raiderettes for multiple seasons” and will “receive more than $20,000 apiece,” according to the lawsuit. Since this particular lawsuit was filed in 2014, other NFL cheerleaders have stepped forward from teams like the “Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Buffalo Bills” to fight for fair compensation as well.
A similar lawsuit was filed earlier this year against the NFL by four former cheerleaders from the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. According to that particular lawsuit, the NFL and all 26 of its member teams that “employ cheerleaders actively conspired to underpay them and keep them from negotiating better salaries.” In addition to unfair wages, the suit filed earlier this year against the league claimed the NFL and individual teams would “prohibit female athletes from discussing their wages with each other in a further effort to suppress wages.” According to the lead plaintiff’s attorney, Drexel Bradshaw, “the NFL and its member teams have intentionally conspired together to thwart competition so that they could pay these women illegally.”
So far, the NFL has had little to say about the matter, which is surprising considering all of the allegations against it in regard to this matter.
Sources:
Oakland Raiders cheerleaders collect on $1.25 million class-action settlement
Former NFL Cheerleaders Sue League Over Unfair Wages
Former Cheerleaders Sue the NFL, Alleging Conspiracy Over Unfair Wages
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