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From Pom Poms to the Courtroom, Pt. 2 - Cincinnati Bengals Cheerleader's Suit Over Wages


For those keeping score at home, a few weeks ago, an Oakland Raiders cheerleader filed a  wage and hour suit against her employer (see the blog here: http://themajorityopinion.blogspot.com/2014/01/from-pom-poms-to-courtroom-oakland.html). Apparently as a result of that suit, a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader filed a class action complaint against the Bengals organization a few weeks ago and alleged similar wage and hour issues.  According to the complaint, Cincinnati Bengals cheerleaders (cleverly referred to as "Ben-Gals") are not paid for the hours that they attend for practice, promote the team calendar, and attend for mandatory charity events.  The complaint further alleged that the cheerleaders work about 300 hours a year for the Bengals organization and are paid, "at most, $90 for each home football game at which they cheer."  If these claims are true, there are Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations that the Bengals could be liable for. 

As an aside, at least one team, the Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks, appears to pay their cheerleaders a wage that is in line with the FLSA.  The "Sea-Gals" (oh these NFL teams with their clever names for their cheerleaders...) are paid an hourly wage for "all hours worked" and "applicable overtime."  (A copy of the Rules for the Sea-Gals, including the mention regarding compensation, can be found here:  Sea-Gals Rules)

Interesting to note, the cheerleader who brought the suit against the Bengals said she did so as a result of the the suit brought by the Oakland Raiders cheerleader a few weeks ago.  It will be interesting to keep an eye on how many other NFL cheerleader lawsuits emerge in the coming weeks and months.  There have been discussions and debates for several years about how little NFL cheerleaders are paid for their work, especially given the long hours the cheerleaders work and relatively miniscule pay that teams have paid in return.  The Raiders lawsuit just might be the tip of the iceberg for these type of wage and hour suits brought by NFL cheerleaders...

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

Special thanks to Lisa Hernandez of the NBC Bay Area affiliate for additional information on the topic:  http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Bengals-Cheerleader-Sues-Team-Following-Oakland-Raiderettes-Claim--245421651.html

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