Raiderettes Settle Suit - The Oakland Raiders has finally agreed to a $1.25 million settlement with its cheerleaders, NBC News has learned.
Cheerleaders Lacy T. and Sarah G. reportedly filed a lawsuit at the Alameda County Superior Court in January, alleging that the Raiders withheld their pay until after the season, didn't fairly compensate the women for all their hours of work and even asked the cheerleaders to shoulder many of their own business expenses, according several Raiderettes settle suit reports.
The Raiderettes were said to have been forced to pay fines for things like bringing the wrong pom-poms to practice and one of the plaintiffs claimed to have earned less than $5 an hour in pay.
Under the Raiderretes settle suit agreement, the cheerleaders will now earn $9 an hour, overtime included. This means that they will earn almost $2,000 more than what they were earning over the course of the season prior the lawsuit. Furthermore, the Raiders' cheerleaders will also be paid every two weeks, contrary to their once a season payment.
Also included in the Raiderettes settle suit terms is the back pay for the cheerleaders who have worked for the team as far back as 2010. Each lady is entitled to $6,400 for each season she worked for the Raiders between 2010-13. The women who have been in the squad since January are also entitled to receive $2,500.
Plaintiffs Lacy and Sarah have each been awarded $10,000 on top of the Raiderettes settle suit agreement.
"I'm so excited, honestly," Lacy told the Los Angeles Times. "I feel a sense of satisfaction knowing this long journey is over and will end happily for 90 women. I feel very proud about that. I know we're just cheerleaders to people, but we're low-wage workers working for a billion-dollar industry. It shows everyone that one little girl who stood up and said, 'This is not right,' changed the way the Raiders do business."
The Raiderettes settle suit had been a success for Oakland cheerleaders so far, however, lawsuits from Buffalo, Tampa Bay, New York and Cincinnati are reportedly still pending.
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