It’s a joyous day to be an NFL cheerleader for a California-based NFL team, because this afternoon, governor Jerry Brown mandated the same benefits of regular full-time employees and applied that to (some) professional cheerleaders.
This means that cheerleaders will be issued paid sick leave, minimum wage ($9.00/hour in California) and other legal protections.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez issued a statement about sexism by not properly paying cheerleaders:
“Every single person in that [the NFL stadium] experience is paid. Most of them, because these are public facilities in large cities, are paid beyond a minimum wage. In fact most of them are unionized and are paid a living page. The only exception to this are the cheerleaders on the field. And it’s the only group–I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s the only group that is 100% women. This has been going on for decades, and it is an inequity that I don’t think we can let stand.”
This legal proceeding was a follow-up to several Oakland Raiderettes complaining about the lack of compensation for ‘business expenses,’ salary and other monetary concerns, such as refusal to be paid for off-the-field appearances for charity and what not.
However, some members of the Oakland Raiders’ cheer squad from 2010 to 2013 were a part of a $1.25 million settlement.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
