Class Action Lawsuit Fetches $324,000 for Jets Cheerleaders

In 2014 the spirit squad of NFL cheerleader filed a lawsuit against NFL franchisees for payment discrimination. In the recent past several such lawsuits have been filed by cheerleader teams against several franchisees and all of these class action suits have achieved incredible courtroom success.

Their last win comes when the Jets cheerleaders participating in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons are assured a payment $2,500 per person per season covering the seasons in that entire period. Additionally they will get an extra allowance of $400 per photo shoot in which they participated during the seasons. According to a Washington Post report, a total amount of $324,000 will be paid to 52 cheerleaders.

Do not sue too much though, or you may not have a job at all.

Lawsuit could Damage their Profession

A statement issued by the Jet’s cheerleaders claimed that they received $150 per game and were paid nothing for practice sessions. They paid for transportation, hair care, and makeup from their own pockets. Patricia V. Pierce, the worker’s compensation lawyer who represented the cheerleaders stated that it was clear that the money they received was even less than the minimum wage and many people believe the minimum wage is too high though. But some other people are also saying why even take the job then?

Does the job have hidden perks that the cheerleaders are not saying?

The Jets franchisee agreed to settle without litigation. However, in the agreement clause there was no mention of any wrong doing by the franchisee. According to their statement the settlement saved them distraction, expenses, and time.

The major strike against the Jets is that they chose Mark Sanchez to be their quarterback for several years. Anyone who saw him play one quarter knew he was not accurate with his passes. And if you saw him play another quarter, you may just see something historic such something called the “butt fumble”. In fact, some people will refer to Sanchez as exactly that the rest of time and there is nothing any worker’s compensation attorney can do about that.

Similar Lawsuits Jolts Sports Franchisees

The Jets cheerleaders are not the only one who won big in the battle against “unfair” pay. The Cincinnati Bengals paid $225,000 as settlement money to cheerleaders who have initiated a similar lawsuit against the company. In March, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers paid $825,000 to its cheerleaders for the services they rendered in the last few seasons.

However, the biggest settlement claim was by Oakland Raiders cheerleaders who brought a wage theft class action suit against their employer. Oakland Raider paid $1.25 million as a result of the suit filed by workers’ compensation lawyers.

Buffalo Bills also faces serious legal trouble as they were named in a lawsuit by the spirit squad for not adhering to wage rules. The franchisee has not used cheerleaders, for obvious reasons, for the past two seasons and a judge has recently permitted the lawsuit to proceed.

Could this be the end of the cheerleader?

Several New Jersey lawmakers have spoken in favor of a bill that will make the cheerleaders a part of the NFL team. The proposal for the bills recommended that they must not be treated as independent contractors by the teams but instead they must get employee status entitling them worker’s compensation benefits, unemployment benefits, and temporary disability money. In addition, employers also must abide by minimum wage laws while paying the cheerleaders. These lawmakers may just wipe out the cheerleading job entirely. It is amazing how business ignorant and disrespectful so many lawmakers are.

States with lawmakers like this are normally the states with high unemployment rates.

Sometimes workers who are injured in workplace accidents often have problems receiving damages from workers compensation claims. In many instances there are errors in filing the claim but often there are bad faith cases when the insurance providers simply do not want to honor a claim without a proper reason. This is the right time to engage a worker compensation lawyer to file a lawsuit against the insurance company and in certain cases against their employers as well.

Give us a call, we can help you find legal help in this domain. Using this virtual legal tool, you can find us: Workers-Comp.USAttorneys. You are not the only one in this position and not the only one we will help today.