California Cheerleaders Cheering Minimum Wage Legislation

Oakland, CA Following California labor lawsuits and lawsuits across the US alleging cheerleaders are denied minimum wage, proposed legislation has been forwarded to guarantee California cheerleaders are paid minimum wage, overtime and sick leave. The legislation was written by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and sent to the governor in early July.

According to The Associated Press (7/1/15), although the legislation is welcome, cheerleaders and their supporters say labor law already guarantees them minimum wage and overtime. They often do not receive that pay because they’re misclassified as independent contractors.

Workers are considered independent contractors if they have a great deal of authority and discretion in how they perform their work and carry out their duties. For example, if they set their own schedule, choose what to wear while working and control the work they do, they are more likely considered independent contractors. In the case of cheerleaders, their work is tightly controlled - from the clothing they wear, to how they do their hair and makeup, to the dance routines they perform, and the off-site events they attend.

“NFL teams and their billionaire owners have used professional cheerleaders as part of the game day experience for decades,” Gonzalez said in a statement on the legislation. “They have capitalized on their talents without providing even the most basic workplace protections like a minimum wage. If the guy selling you the beer deserves a minimum wage, so does the woman entertaining you on the field. All work is dignified and cheerleaders deserve the respect of these basic workplace protections.”

In addition to not being paid minimum wage, cheerleaders were found to not be paid overtime and spent their own personal funds - in some cases a significant amount - to pay for items required by the team, such as uniforms and hairstyling.

Minimum wage in California is currently $9 an hour. According to lawsuits, some cheerleaders made as little as $5 an hour and were not paid for all training sessions. The Raiders cheerleaders reportedly made $1,250 per season before the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Salon (1/30/15) notes the lowest paid player on the Oakland Raiders makes approximately $400,000 a year.

A lawsuit filed against the Oakland Raiders was settled in 2014 for more than $1 million. Lawsuits have been filed against the Jets, Bengals, Buccaneers and Bills.

One of the cheerleading lawsuits was Lacy T. et al v. The Oakland Raiders, case number RG14710825.