Teh One Who Knocks
04-23-2014, 11:04 AM
By Associated Press and Daily Mail Reporter
Five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders are suing the NFL team for unspecified damages, claiming they weren't paid for their time at games or mandatory public appearances that left them open to groping and sexual comments.
The lawsuit is the third filed this year against a National Football League team by its cheerleaders.
The Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals also have pending wage battles.
Two members of the Buffalo Jills squad held a news conference Tuesday with their attorney, Frank Dolce, explaining how they were each exploited out of '840 hours of work' and subjected to harassment, such as being told to sit of men's laps, WIVB reported.
http://i.imgur.com/UBx4G4y.png
The women say they were wrongly classified as independent contractors by Stejon Productions, which manages the Jills and failed to pay them for hundreds of hours of work during 2012 and 2013 season.
'We had always dreamed since we were little girls of becoming Buffalo Jills cheerleaders and unfortunately it was anything but a good experience,' said former Jills cheerleader Alyssa U, WIVB reported
'[They made us do] everything from standing in front of us with a clipboard and having us do a jiggle test to see what parts of our body were jiggling and if that was something she saw, then you weren’t performing at all.
She and four others claim other degrading behavior included being forced to wear a bikini and then go into a dunk tank, being auctioned off like prizes, and 'the Jills were forced to sit on participants’ laps because there was not enough seats in the golf carts.
The plaintiffs claim that they did not receive compensation for working at Bills games.
Instead, they received a $90 game ticket and a parking pass.
They claim that no compensation was paid for practice time.
They contend that they were required to buy 50-75 swimsuits calendars and then resell them on their own time, and that they were subject to 'an onerous set of rules dictating how the women could walk, talk, dress, speak and behave, both in uniform and in their personal lives'.
The complaint alleges that game performances, practices, rehearsals and appearances equaled '840 hours of unpaid work per woman, per year'.
http://i.imgur.com/pHLnEOR.jpg
It also says the women each paid more than $600 for their uniforms and covered their own travel expenses, including hotel stays, during appearances for the team.
They also paid for their own hairstyles, nails tights, lipstick, makeup, gas and more that were required by the Bills and appearances for the team.
Their lawsuit seeks back pay and 'other damages as allowed by law'.
'We were the laughing stock of NFL cheerleaders,' Alyssa U said.
'We deserve to be compensated just like everyone else.'
A Bills spokesman says the team doesn't comment on pending litigation. Stejon Productions hasn't responded to a request for comment.
Five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders are suing the NFL team for unspecified damages, claiming they weren't paid for their time at games or mandatory public appearances that left them open to groping and sexual comments.
The lawsuit is the third filed this year against a National Football League team by its cheerleaders.
The Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals also have pending wage battles.
Two members of the Buffalo Jills squad held a news conference Tuesday with their attorney, Frank Dolce, explaining how they were each exploited out of '840 hours of work' and subjected to harassment, such as being told to sit of men's laps, WIVB reported.
http://i.imgur.com/UBx4G4y.png
The women say they were wrongly classified as independent contractors by Stejon Productions, which manages the Jills and failed to pay them for hundreds of hours of work during 2012 and 2013 season.
'We had always dreamed since we were little girls of becoming Buffalo Jills cheerleaders and unfortunately it was anything but a good experience,' said former Jills cheerleader Alyssa U, WIVB reported
'[They made us do] everything from standing in front of us with a clipboard and having us do a jiggle test to see what parts of our body were jiggling and if that was something she saw, then you weren’t performing at all.
She and four others claim other degrading behavior included being forced to wear a bikini and then go into a dunk tank, being auctioned off like prizes, and 'the Jills were forced to sit on participants’ laps because there was not enough seats in the golf carts.
The plaintiffs claim that they did not receive compensation for working at Bills games.
Instead, they received a $90 game ticket and a parking pass.
They claim that no compensation was paid for practice time.
They contend that they were required to buy 50-75 swimsuits calendars and then resell them on their own time, and that they were subject to 'an onerous set of rules dictating how the women could walk, talk, dress, speak and behave, both in uniform and in their personal lives'.
The complaint alleges that game performances, practices, rehearsals and appearances equaled '840 hours of unpaid work per woman, per year'.
http://i.imgur.com/pHLnEOR.jpg
It also says the women each paid more than $600 for their uniforms and covered their own travel expenses, including hotel stays, during appearances for the team.
They also paid for their own hairstyles, nails tights, lipstick, makeup, gas and more that were required by the Bills and appearances for the team.
Their lawsuit seeks back pay and 'other damages as allowed by law'.
'We were the laughing stock of NFL cheerleaders,' Alyssa U said.
'We deserve to be compensated just like everyone else.'
A Bills spokesman says the team doesn't comment on pending litigation. Stejon Productions hasn't responded to a request for comment.