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From Pom Poms to the Courtroom: Dallas Cowboys Edition


Another month, and yet another N.F.L. cheerleader lawsuit has been filed in regard to Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") issues.  As readers are well aware, over the past few years, N.F.L. and N.B.A. cheerleaders have filed numerous FLSA and discrimination suits against their teams and the leagues.  For those keeping count, lawsuits have been filed against several teams including the Raiders, Bengals, Bills, Jets, Buccaneers, Raiders (again), Bucks, Saints, and Texans.  Although some of those cases have ended up settling, others have continued on without a resolution.  As I have pointed out previously, one of the sticking points with many of these FLSA suits is a provision in the employment agreement that all disputes will be resolved via arbitration...rather than in court.

With that being said, last week, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader filed suit against the team and alleged that the Cowboys failed to pay her minimum wage and overtime.  The cheerleader, Erika Wilkins, claims she was paid $8/hour for practices and a flat rate for games and other appearances but was not paid for all the hours she worked (which included practices, training, and filming for the CMT show Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders:  Making the Team).  As a result, Wilkins argues that she is owed unpaid overtime wage, minimum wages, and all other available damages.

This suit is interesting, albeit a bit different than other related cheerleader lawsuits, in so much that Wilkins alleges that the team's mascot, Rowdy, makes $25/hour and about $65,000.00 per year plus commission.  Wilkins argues that Rowdy's job required "equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions..."  This is an interesting argument, as Wilkins is attempting to draw a line between what the mascot (played by a male) makes in comparison to the all female cheerleading group in an attempt to establish a violation of the Equal Pay Act.  (For those needing a refresher, the Equal Pay Act, in relevant parts, states that "No employer...shall discriminate...between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees...at a rate less than which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex...for equal work on jobs, the performance of which require equal skill, effort, and responsibility...").

Several former Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have come out in the past few days in support of the team and somewhat critical of Wilkins.  I link readers to the below article to see some of what is being said in regard to this lawsuit.  For the time being, the team itself has not commented on the lawsuit.


 

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