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From Pom Poms to the Courtroom: Game Over, (One) Oakland Raiders Cheerleader Lawsuit Settles


For those keeping track at home, back in January, a lawsuit was filed by a former Oakland Raiders cheerleader who alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") as a result of several wage and hour violations by the Raiders.  (Oakland Raiders Lawsuit Blog).  Since that first lawsuit, several other lawsuits have been brought by current and former N.F.L. cheerleaders against several teams and have alleged similar wage and hour violations.  I have followed these lawsuits with keen interest, but this first one really stood out as it was, in essence, the template for all future cheerleader wage and hour suits.

Well, after several months of litigation, this case has finally settled and the Raiders have agreed to pay $1.25 million.  In addition to that settlement amount, additional provisions were provided for:  

  • Instead of earning $125/game in a single paycheck delivered at the end of the season, the cheerleaders will now earn $9/hour, plus overtime, and will be paid every two weeks.  As a result, the annual compensation will rise from $1,250 to about $3,200 for each cheerleader.  Note, that back in July, the Raiders quietly raised their cheerleaders' pay for the upcoming season to $9/hour.  (Raiders Raise Pay for Cheerleaders Blog).  
  • Cheerleaders will now be reimbursed for business expenses and mileage.  Before the settlement, these costs were covered solely by the cheerleaders
  • The Raiders will no longer illegally deduct wages for minor rules infractions such as showing up a few minutes late, wearing the wrong color nail polish, bringing the wrong pom poms to practice, etc.
  • Cheerleaders will be allowed a 10 minute break during games.

At this point, it is not clear what impact this settlement will have on the other N.F.L. cheerleader lawsuits, let alone the second cheerleader lawsuit filed against the Raiders.  In any event, this is a big win for the cheerleaders who brought the suit and potentially a bit of foreshadowing on how some of the other cases will play out, if they do in fact end up settling as well.


Additional information on the settlement can be found in the LA Times article:  http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-ra-raiders-settle-cheerleader-lawsuit-20140904-column.html

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