Raiderettes Issued $1.25 Million Settlement from Raiders over Failed Payments

Former members of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad the Raiderettes received payment Wednesday of a combined $1.25 million granted to them in the 2014 settlement of their lawsuit against the team. 

According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Vic Tafur, nearly 100 cheerleaders who worked for the Raiders were awarded in the settlement. In the suit, the women alleged the team "failed to pay their cheerleading squad minimum wage for the hours they worked, failed to pay overtime and failed to reimburse them for thousands of dollars of incurred expenses from 2010 to '14."

While the payments were issued Wednesday, the initial ruling came in September 2014, per the Los Angeles Times' Robin Abcarian. 

At the time, the team also introduced a slew of monetary changes—including an annual compensation hike from $1,250 to approximately $3,200 and confirmation that it would start to reimburse cheerleaders for business expenses and travel. 

Furthermore, the Raiders pledged not to fine members of the Raiderettes for minor breaches of team policy, such as wearing the wrong color nail polish. 

"Our clients have now been paid the equivalent of minimum wage for all of the hours they worked and have been reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses," attorney Sharon Vinick said, per Tafur. "It is important to note that paying these women minimum wage doesn’t represent the value that these hardworking women bring to the game-day experience."