California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law Wednesday that will provide cheerleaders for professional sports teams in the state the same basic rights as the rest of the team’s employees.
The bill, which was created by state assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), comes amid a growing recognition nationally that cheerleaders are often not provided the workplace protections of other employees.
Gonzalez has focused in particular on the story of Caitlin Yates, a former cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders who claimed that the NFL team didn’t pay its cheerleaders the minimum wage or compensate them for travel costs that reached into the thousands. Additionally, she alleged women were benched if they appeared to have gained weight.
Caitlin Yates cheers on the Oakland Raiders during a game against the Houston Texans on September 14, 2014 in Oakland, California.
Tales of this sort have become almost commonplace in the NFL. Cheerleaders for the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Buccaneers have also filed wage-related lawsuits in recent years. Aside from unfair compensation, NFL cheerleaders have reportedly had to put up with strict etiquette guides and objectifying standards -- and that’s not even mentioning the “jiggle test,” which, well, you can figure out what that is by yourself.
"We would never tolerate shortchanging of women workers at any other workplace. An NFL game should be no different." Gonzalez said in a statement. "Today we took an important step toward ensuring that multi-billion dollar sports teams treat cheerleaders with the same dignity and respect as every other employee who makes the game-day experience special."
The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2016, ensures cheerleaders of professional sports teams receive the same protection afforded under minimum wage and overtime laws, as well as the many other basic protections provided under state law. They will be treated more like humans now, basically.
Gonzalez celebrated the signing of the bill in a tweet on Wednesday, but also noted the victory is just one step in a larger fight. The next step, she says, is to pressure the NFL to make sure cheerleaders everywhere get the same rights.
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