The Buffalo Bills is being sued by its former cheerleader girls for failing to pay an adequate compensation and subjecting them to groping and sexual comments during mandatory public appearances, the Associated Press reported.
Known as the Buffalo Jills, the five former cheerleaders filed a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming that they had not been paid for working hundreds of hours at games.
One of the cheerleaders has also revealed that they were required to take a jiggle test in order for their boss to see how firm their bodies were.
With the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals already facing wage battles from its cheerleaders, this will be the third lawsuit to be filed in the Supreme Court this year against a National Football League team.
In the lawsuit, the cheerleaders are wrongly classified as independent contractors and are subjected to policies that violate the state's $8 per hour minimum wage law and other workplace rules, the Buffalo Jills said.
A news conference was held by two members of the Jills squad on Tuesday with their attorney, Frank Dolce.
"We are Bills fans," Dolce said. "We definitely want our organization and other organizations in the NFL to respect the rights of these cheerleaders."
While 20-35 appearances by the Bills' cheerleaders at community and charity events each season are unpaid, they are also not paid for games and practices, the lawsuit claimed.
In addition, not only do they have to purchase their own uniforms by spending $650, they are also not reimbursed for travel or other expenses, the cheerleaders said.
The complaint, which seeks unspecified back pay and legal fees, describes "demeaning and degrading treatment," including being required to wear bikinis at various events such as an annual golf tournament at which cheerleaders were "auctioned off like prizes" and subjected to "degrading sexual comments and inappropriate touching," according to the AP.
Stejon President Stephanie Mateczun used to control every move of the cheerleaders, from their hair and nail polish color to what they could post on Facebook, the cheerleaders said.
"Everything from standing in front of us with a clipboard having us do a jiggle test to see what parts of our body were jiggling," cheerleader Alyssa U. said, "and if that was something that she saw, you were getting benched."
