• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Bolek Besser Glesius LLC

Bolek Besser Glesius LLC

Devoted to Justice

  • Home
  • Practice Areas
    • Employment Law
      • Wrongful Termination
      • Workplace Retaliation & Whistleblower Cases
      • Sexual Harassment
      • Age Discrimination Attorney
      • Disability Discrimination
      • Pregnancy Discrimination
      • Race Discrimination
      • Family Medical Leave Act
      • Overtime Pay and Minimum Wage
      • Employment Contracts & Severance Packages
      • Restrictive Covenants & Non-Compete Agreements
      • Executive Compensation
      • View All
    • First Amendment Lawyers
      • Ohio Free Speech Attorneys
        • Government Employee Free Speech
        • Student Free Speech Rights in Ohio
        • Significant Ohio Free Speech Cases
      • Religious Freedom
    • Appellate Practice
    • Small Business Litigation
  • About Us
    • Cathleen M. Bolek
    • Matthew D. Besser
    • Amy S. Glesius
    • Kelly S. Rochotte
  • Results
  • FAQ
  • Articles
  • BBG Newsroom
  • Contact
  • Blog
(216) 464-3004
Contact Us Now
GET HELP NOW
CALL US NOW

Yet Another NFL Cheerleader Minimum Wage Class Action Lawsuit!

April 25, 2014 By Matthew Besser Leave a Comment

Two months ago, I blogged about an Ohio minimum wage class action lawsuit filed against the Cincinnati Bengals by one of the team’s former cheerleaders. I predicted we might soon see more class action lawsuits filed by other professional cheerleaders because “similar minimum wage and overtime class actions tend to come in bunches.” Well maybe I should buy a lottery ticket, because my prediction came true.

On Tuesday, five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders sued the team and the cheerleading squad’s management company under New York’s minimum wage law. According to the lawsuit, the cheerleaders—known as the “Buffalo Jills”—were improperly classified as independent contractors rather than employees, and therefore not paid for hundreds of hours of work per year. Because the cheerleaders were not paid for practice or the numerous community appearances they were required to make, the lawsuit claims they were paid less than minimum wage for all hours worked. In response to the lawsuit, the management company for the Jills announced they are indefinitely suspending operations. To be honest, I’m not sure what that accomplishes (other than maybe cutting off any ongoing minimum wage violations).

Although this case arises under New York law, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Ohio law require payment of minimum wage as well. As I wrote in the prior blog on this issue, covered employers are generally required to pay non-exempt employees at least the minimum wage for every hour worked. Besides the minimum wage claim, this new lawsuit also brings related claims for failure to timely pay wages and unlawful wage deductions. Both practices are illegal under Ohio law, and such claims are commonly brought in minimum wage and overtime lawsuits.

From the outset, it looks as though the lawsuit may hinge on a similar question as the Bengals lawsuit: are the cheerleaders “employees” or “independent contractors” under the applicable minimum wage and overtime law? My initial guess from the allegations in the Complaint (assuming they are true) is that the Jills—like the Ben-Gals—are probably employees, and thus entitled to minimum wage.

In addition to the wage and hour issues, however, this Jills lawsuit also has sexual component. It alleges the cheerleaders were subject to “jiggle tests” used to evaluate their physiques, as well as groping and inappropriate sexual comments at community events. That may not come as a shock, but sexual harassment is illegal whether the victim works as a cheerleader, corporate executive, or anything else. That said, these allegations appear to have been added for factual background, as I do not see a separate claim for sexual harassment actually made in the lawsuit.

This is now the third wage and hour lawsuit recently filed by cheerleaders against an NFL team (all from AFC teams strangely). Whether there will be more coming from either NFL or NBA cheerleaders remains to be seen. I won’t feel like Nostradamus if we do see more though. In the meantime, as always, Go Browns!

Filed Under: Fair Labor Standards Act, Sexual harassment Tagged With: FLSA, minimum wage, sexual harassment

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Best Law Firms - Regional Tier 1 BadgeBest Lawyers Amy Glesius Lawyer of the Year BadgeMartindale AV Rated BadgeSuper Lawyers Top 100 Badge BBB Accredited Business BadgeMillion Dollar Advocates Badge

Contact Us Now

  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

U.S. News Best Law Firms 2019 BadgeBest Lawyers Amy Glesius Lawyer of the Year BadgeSuper Lawyers Top 100 BadgeMartindale AV Rated BadgeBest Law Firms - Regional Tier 1 Badge

Contact Us Now

  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Footer

Social

Follow along on social media.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Our Cleveland Office

Monarch Centre

5885 Landerbrook Drive, Suite 302

Cleveland, OH 44124

Contact Now

Phone: 216-464-3004

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy

Contact Our Firm

Monarch Centre

5885 Landerbrook Drive, Suite 302

Cleveland, OH 44124

Contact Now

Phone: 216-464-3004

Disclaimer

Copyright © 2025 · Business Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Home
  • Practice Areas
    ▼
    • Employment Law
      ▼
      • Wrongful Termination
      • Workplace Retaliation & Whistleblower Cases
      • Sexual Harassment
      • Age Discrimination Attorney
      • Disability Discrimination
      • Pregnancy Discrimination
      • Race Discrimination
      • Family Medical Leave Act
      • Overtime Pay and Minimum Wage
      • Employment Contracts & Severance Packages
      • Restrictive Covenants & Non-Compete Agreements
      • Executive Compensation
      • View All
    • First Amendment Lawyers
      ▼
      • Ohio Free Speech Attorneys
        ▼
        • Government Employee Free Speech
        • Student Free Speech Rights in Ohio
        • Significant Ohio Free Speech Cases
      • Religious Freedom
    • Appellate Practice
    • Small Business Litigation
  • About Us
    ▼
    • Cathleen M. Bolek
    • Matthew D. Besser
    • Amy S. Glesius
    • Kelly S. Rochotte
  • Results
  • FAQ
  • Articles
  • BBG Newsroom
  • Contact
  • Blog