Skip to main content

From Pom Poms to the Courtroom: Pt. 4, New York Jets Edition


Stop me if you have heard this before:  an N.F.L. cheerleader brings a wage and hour suit against the team and alleges, among other things, that the team pays below minimum wage for the practices, appearances, and games the cheerleaders are required to work.  For those keeping count at home, this is the fourth wage and hour lawsuit filed by an N.F.L. cheerleader this year (Oakland Raiders Cheerleader Lawsuit;  Cincinnati Bengals Cheerleader Lawsuit; Buffalo Bills Cheerleader Lawsuit)

Not to be outdone, yesterday, a New York Jets cheerleader brought a class action wage and hour suit against the Jets.  The cheerleader alleged that she was not paid for attending three day a week practices, attending mandatory cheerleading camps sponsored by the Jets, and for certain promotional appearances she had to make as part of the cheerleading team, referred to as the "Flight Crew".  The complaint alleged that the cheerleaders got paid $150 for game days and $100 for outside appearances.  As has been common with other complaints, this lawsuit alleged that the Jets cheerleaders were not reimbursed for travel related expenses or mandatory hair & makeup "appearance" related requirements (such as the requirement that the cheerleaders straighten curly hair on game days).  As a result, the lawsuit claimed that the cheerleaders ended up making only $1.50 per hour when these additional expenses were factored in, which is much less than New Jersey's $8.25 an hour minimum wage rate

Unlike other cheerleader lawsuits, the Jets consider the members of the Flight Crew to be employees, rather than independent contracts.  This is beneficial in this instance, as it makes for a stronger wage and hour argument.  As well, unlike the Oakland Raiders lawsuit, there is no binding arbitration clause included in the Flight Crew employment contract.  As a result, this case will likely stay in the court system, and not go before an arbitrator (remember that the Oakland Raiders lawsuit included an arbitration clause that said Roger Goodell, the N.F.L. Commissioner, would settle all disputes arising out of the Raiderette employment contract).  

A copy of the lawsuit can be found here:  http://media.nbcbayarea.com/documents/KrystalCRedacted.pdf

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more

NLRB: Former Employee Cannot Be Barred From Work Premises After Filing Wage Suit

MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC - NLRB Facts :  MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC d/b/a Grand Sierra Resort & Casino ("GSR") operated a facility that included a hotel, casino, restaurant, clubs, bars, and a pool which were all open to the general public.  Tiffany Sargent ("Sargent") was briefly employed by GSR as a "beverage supervisor" in December of 2012.  After her employment ended, Sargent continued to socialize at one of the clubs.  GSR had a long standing practice of allowing former employees to patronize its facility and did not prohibit Sargent from doing so.  In June of 2013, Sargent and another employee filed a class and collective action against GSR for alleged unpaid wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada law.  In July of 2014, GSR denied Sargent access to an event at one of the clubs.  GSR followed up with a letter and stated that with the on-going litigation (from the wage suit), it decided to bar Sargent from the premises. ...
1 comment
Read more