A cheerleader for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals is suing the team, saying she is paid less than $2.85 an hour.
Alexa Brenneman, of Hamilton County, Ohio, accuses the Bengals of underpaying the Ben-gals cheerleaders, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law, which requires a minimum wage of $7.85 an hour.
In her lawsuit, filed on Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Ohio, Brenneman worked more than 300 hours and appeared at 10 home games during the 2013 season, and was paid $855, or $2.85 an hour.
Last month, former and current cheerleaders for the Oakland Raiders filed a lawsuit claiming similar violations of wage laws. The Raiders have not responded to ABCNews.com’s request for comment.
A spokesman for the Bengals provided a statement to ABCNews.com, saying “The Ben-Gals cheerleading program has long been a program run by former cheerleaders and has enjoyed broad support in the community and by members of the squad. Yesterday’s lawsuit appears to be a copycat lawsuit that mimics the one filed last month in California against a different NFL club. The Bengals will address the litigation in due course.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy declined to comment about both lawsuits, saying the league is not involved with team cheerleaders.
Brenneman attached to her lawsuit a six-page exhibit that shows the “Cincinnati Ben-gal Rules,” which her attorney said shows the degree of control the team has over the cheerleaders as employees.
“It also shows the consequences, including if, by God, you eat a pizza and crash the scales at a whopping 110 pounds versus 100 pounds, then you’re benched,” said Brenneman’s attorney Jeffrey Goldenberg.
Goldenberg said the intent of attaching the rules was not to focus on “sensational and sexual” factors.
“It’s about them earning about $2.85 an hour, and that’s not right,” he said, adding that other NFL cheerleaders are paid hourly and sometimes overtime by teams such as the Seattle Seahawks.
