Oakland Raiders reportedly sued by own cheerleading squad

Published Jan. 22, 2014 8:45 p.m. ET

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You remember the Oakland Raiders, right?

It's been a while since we've heard about the AFC West team because, well, we rarely talk about the Raiders during the playoffs.

They're finally back in the news but it's not for a good reason. The team has reportedly been sued by its own cheerleading squad.

The heart of the suit is that the cheerleaders are upset about allegedly being paid what amounts to be $5 an hour.

The San Jose Mercury News has the details:

The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of current and former Raiderettes, claims that the NFL team engaged in wage theft and other unfair employment practices. Specifically, the suit charges that the team withholds all pay from the Raiderettes until after the season is completed, does not pay for all hours worked and forces the cheerleaders to pay many of their own business expenses.

"It's as if the Raiders' owners believe that the laws that protect all workers in California just don't apply to them," attorney Sharon Vinick said.

According to Vinick, the Raiders cheerleaders are contracted for an annual salary of $1,250, which amounts to an hourly wage of less than $5 per hour. The lawsuit also claims that the Raiderettes incur other costs, including fines levied for infractions such as bringing the wrong pom-poms to practice, wearing the wrong workout clothing to rehearsals, failing to bring a yoga mat to practice, or not turning in written biographies on time.

The Raiders declined to comment on the situation.

(H/T TBL)