Milwaukee Bucks Cheerleader Says She Wasn’t Even Paid Minimum Wage

The Milwaukee Bucks were hit with a putative class action lawsuit by a former cheerleader alleging that the basketball franchise violated wage and hour laws by denying cheerleaders minimum wage pay for their job commitment.

Plaintiff Lauren Herington says the pay awarded to her by the Milwaukee Bucks resulted in wages that were far below minimum wage in nearly all the weeks she was required to work.

The Bucks Dancers are paid flat rates as independent contractors for their time related to performances. For home games, they earn $65, for practices $35, and for special appearances they are paid $50.

To earn their compensation, they must arrive at games two and a half hours before start times, practice up to 10 hours per week, and attend regular physical fitness workouts of 15-20 hours per week.

They also make special appearances at community events, charity functions, corporate events and participate in photo shoots for the annual swimsuit calendar and other publications.

Additionally, to keep up their appearance in accordance with policies stated by the Milwaukee Bucks, they are mandated to have tanning sessions, salon visits, haircuts and maintain their uniforms by using dry cleaning services, which are not reimbursed by the company.

The wage and hour class action lawsuit alleges that the Milwaukee Bucks know they are paying their cheerleaders less than minimum wage, however they continue to do so in order to reduce labor costs.

Henrington, on behalf of the proposed class of cheerleaders, seeks increased wages for the Bucks Dancers and damages to be paid, as well as wage recovery for previous hours of work, adequate payment for any overtime earned, injunctive relief, and cost of litigation.

The Milwaukee Bucks Cheerleaders Class Action Lawsuit is Herington v. Milwaukee Bucks LLC, Case No. 2:15-cv-00152, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Wage and Hour Lawsuits from Other Sports Cheerleaders

In 2014, a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of her cheer squad after she said she worked 300 hours during the season, but was only paid $855. This made her hourly wage $2.85 an hour, far below minimum wage. They reached a settlement of up to $255,000. The Oakland Raiders cheerleaders reached a $1.25 million settlement.

In January 2016, following a new California law, professional football and basketball team cheerleaders will now be paid at least minimum wage.

Other wage and hour lawsuits have been filed against the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Wage and Hour Lawsuit Information

If you believe your employer has violated wage and hour laws and you are not being paid for overtime, not being paid minimum wage or any other violations of employment law, you may be entitled to legal compensation. Our labor law attorneys will review your case at no charge to you and can provide you with legal guidance on how to take your next step of action.

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