A judge just ruled that a lawsuit brought against the Buffalo Bills by their cheerleaders–the Buffalo Jills–is allowed to move forward. The cheerleaders are suing the NFL team for better wages and work conditions. While five former cheerleaders brought the suit, the judge’s ruling means that “all Buffalo Bills cheerleaders and ambassadors since April 2008” can join. While this lawsuit is in process, the Buffalo Jills have actually been on hiatus, and haven’t appeared at any games over the last year. But the Buffalo Jills aren’t the first cheerleaders to bring a suit against the team they cheer for–in fact they’re just one more in a growing trend.

The Buffalo Jills each made $1,800 per season, despite the fact that the team takes in a total of $256 million each year. The women claim that their compensation is well below minimum wage. They also claim that they had to attend some events for which they were not paid. The team treated them as independent contractors as opposed to employees, which is how it was able to get away with such low compensation.

Another point of contention in the lawsuit was that the women were held to an incredibly strict, and seemingly inappropriate, guidebook. The book included requirements for things like personal hygiene; for example, it told the women to change their tampons “at least every four hours.” It also instructed them what kind of soap to use, stating: “Intimate areas: Never use a deodorant or chemically enhanced product. Simple nondeodorant soap will help maintain the right PH balance.” My personal favorite is the eating recommendations, which instruct: “Do not overeat bread in a formal setting.”

At the same time that this lawsuit is being allowed to move forward, New York is considering a bill called the “Cheerleaders’ Fair Pay Act.” It would extend all the “rights, benefits and protections” to the cheerleaders that the rest of the team’s employees have.

The Buffalo Jills aren’t the first group of cheerleaders to get into this kind of showdown with the team they cheer for. Other teams that have been sued by their cheerleaders include the New York Jets, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Oakland Raiders.

The lawsuit won’t be decided for a while, but allowing the plaintiffs to move forward together in a class-action capacity is a big step.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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It’s no secret that many Americans feel there are too many lawsuits in this country. If you’ve ever been selected for jury duty, then you know that one of the most common questions asked before sitting on a civil case is whether or not people sue too often. The answer back to the attorney is often “yes,” not just because the panelist is seeking to avoid jury service, but because that’s the view espoused by many when reflecting on the American zeitgeist.

This sentiment is caused, or at least reinforced, by the media’s reporting of lawsuits. The headlines that make the largest waves are often based on huge, seven-digit verdicts. Laura Beth Nielsen and Aaron Beim alluded to this correlation in a recent paper claiming the courts are not as favorable to plaintiffs as the media often portrays, yet the media’s reports are what the public absorbs. Neilsen and Beim’s chief example is a Boston Globe report of an MBTA worker who was awarded a $5.5 million discrimination verdict. The verdict was later reduced by 80 percent on remittitur, an important detail the Globe did not feature as prominently as the original verdict. It seems that cases alleging discrimination in the workplace carry a stigma with the public and media.

Just as the figures of a verdict can be lost on the average American, so too can the merits of the underlying discrimination case. In 2009, former Los Angeles Clippers executive Elgin Baylor sued team owner Donald Sterling alleging racial discrimination. A jury of 12 unanimously rejected Baylor’s suit, and many called the hall of famer’s action frivolous.

Cases alleging tales of sexual discrimination are no different. This year alone, cheerleaders from three different NFL teams have sued their employers, often alleging sexual harassment among a variety of different wage claims. Knee-jerk reactions to such suits are often negative, as evidenced in the comments section of ESPN articles covering the matter.

A closer look at both situations may evoke a more tolerant response. Since his lawsuit, Elgin Baylor’s former employer has allegedly been caught on tape making racist comments against African Americans, and some former Clippers aren’t surprised by his discriminatory tendencies. Details have also emerged in the cheerleading case of the Buffalo Jills, whose employer allegedly instructed them on how to control their menstrual cycles and how to wash their “intimate areas.”

In sum, it’s never a bad idea to reserve judgment on a lawsuit that appears in the news or on TV, even one alleging discrimination. In fact, suits alleging workplace discrimination often already have safeguards in place against frivolous litigation, like the EEOC’s Right-To-Sue-Letter. But even absent an EEOC investigation, plaintiffs should be afforded a blank slate. Few things in this country are as ubiquitously opposed as prejudice and discrimination. Those who decide to sacrifice time, money, and privacy to personally combat these evils in a public court should be heard with an open mind.

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Andrew Blancato (@BigDogBlancato) holds a J.D. from New York Law School, and is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. When he’s not writing, he is either clerking at a trial court in Connecticut, or obsessing over Boston sports.

Featured image courtesy of [BuffaloProCheer via Wikipedia]

Andrew Blancato

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