Oakland Raiders cheerleaders file suit against team

Members of the Raiderettes say the team withheld pay and benched them for gaining weight. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Former and current members of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad are suing the team claiming theft of wages and other unfair employment practices.

According to the class action lawsuit filed on Wednesday in California, the Raiderettes say that the team withheld all pay until the end of the season, doesn't pay for all hours worked and alleges that they had to pay for many of their own business expenses.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the team also fined the members of the squad who failed to bring the right pom-poms or a yoga mats to practice. Any member who gained five pounds from her weight at the start of the season, or who appeared "too soft" to the squad's director, was benched for the next home game.

The filing also says that the Raiderettes are paid $1,250 per season, and broken down between the time spent rehearsing, performing and appearing at events, amount to the squad being paid around $5 per hour.

"It’s as if the Raiders’ owners believe that the laws that protect all workers in California just don’t apply to them,” attorney for the cheerleaders Sharon Vinick said. "This is one of the most egregious contracts that I have ever seen."

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