Cheerleader files lawsuit against the Bengals

Meet Alexa Brenneman. Alexa is a cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals and, according to a complaint that was filed earlier this week, she only receives $90 per home game -- which appears to be the standard rate for most of the team's cheerleaders. If she combined all of the work she puts into the games and practices (they practice 6-8 hours per week), she translates her pay rate to "less than $2.85 an hour", roughly five dollars less than the state minimum hourly wage.

Brenneman filed a Class Action Complaint against the Cincinnati Bengals, following a trend with cheerleaders from other teams. Brenneman claims that along with the uncompensated hours during practice, she promotes the Ben-GALS calendar and attends mandatory charity events.

[Alexa Brenneman Complaint]

Along with claiming that the team violated minimum wage laws, the class action suit hopes to recoup the back-pay that should have been earned, along with a complaint that cheerleaders are not being paid on time (at the first of the month).

Though some will roll their collective eyes at the complaint (probably with some even wondering why cheerleaders don't just love to cheer for your favorite team), I'm not sure if any one of us would ever agree to do a job that's five dollars (per hour) less than minimum wage.