THE EMPLOYEE MATTERS: News

Raiderettes Class Action Lawsuit Claims Oakland Raiders Management Are Committing Wage Theft

On January 22, 2014, the partners of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP filed a lawsuit against the management of the Oakland Raiders on behalf of current and former members of the Raiderettes, the NFL club’s popular cheerleaders. A toll free hotline has been set up for calls about this lawsuit. If you are a current or former Raiderette or if you have any information about NFL cheerleader pay practices, please call toll free, 1-844-318-7700 or click here.

The complaint [Lacy T. v. The Oakland Raiders], filed in Alameda County Superior Court, alleges that the club withholds all pay from the Raiderettes until after the end of the season, does not pay for all hours worked, and forces the cheerleaders to pay many of their own business expenses. Under their take-it-or-leave-it contract, Raiders’ cheerleaders are to be paid only $1250 for working an entire season, which amounts to less than $5.00 per hour for the time that they spend rehearsing, performing and appearing at events where they are not paid. The club also withholds the Raiderettes’ wages until after the season ends. The lawsuit claims that team management did not pay Raiderette Lacy for all of the hours which she worked, while at the same time requiring her to pay out of pocket expenses. The lawsuit also claims that the Raiders illegally impose monetary fines on Raiderettes for such things as forgetting to bring the correct 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.

It is believed that other NFL teams don’t pay their cheerleaders for all of the hours that they work, and that there is a widespread practice in the NFL of refusing to pay cheerleaders for all of the hours that they have worked, forcing them to work for months before they get paid, and demanding that they sign contracts that are filled with illegal provisions.

For further information, please call, toll free, 1-844-318-7700 or click here.

Equal Rights Advocates Honors Leslie Levy

Equal Rights Advocates honored Leslie Levy for her work at its annual luncheon this summer, where the keynote speaker was equal pay crusader Lilly Ledbetter. ERA is a national organization dedicated to protecting and expanding economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls.

ERA explained why it chose the Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP partner –

ERA honors Leslie Levy for her many contributions to the gender justice movement and the work of ERA. Most recently, Leslie served as ERA’s co-counsel in a case representing an immigrant woman restaurant worker who was sexually assaulted and denied overtime pay, despite repeated complaints. Her compassion and expertise in this case was typical of her accomplished career promoting social justice.

Accepting the honor, Leslie described her long connection to ERA and its mission –

Since I was a law student working at ERA 32 years ago, I have had an affinity for ERA and its mission. While the word “feminism” has fallen out of favor with some, ERA has consistently refused to allow women’s issues to be diluted or marginalized, and has stood strong in support of women’s equality in employment and education . . . I look forward to continuing to stand with ERA in speaking feminist truths to power.

At the event, Lilly Ledbetter addressed the continuing struggle for pay equity for women, even following the landmark equal pay law that bears her name. As part of the movement for equal pay, ERA has launched Close the Gap, a social media campaign highlighting how women earn cents on the dollar compared to men. As big supporters of this cause and ERA, Leslie and the rest of her firm added their pictures to the campaign. Leslie, who has represented women firefighters in discrimination cases, featured the pay difference for women firefighters, who earn only 78 cents to every dollar earned by a man doing the same dangerous and demanding work.

Blog Authors Make Super Lawyers List Again

For the third consecutive year, all four partners of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP have been selected to the 2013 Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this recognition. Among those honored, Jean Hyams was named one of The Top 100 Super Lawyers in Northern California for 2013.

Although only five percent of attorneys around the state make it on to the Super Lawyers list, the honor has been bestowed multiple times on the LVBH partners. This is the seventh year Sharon Vinick has been named to the Super Lawyers list, the third year for Darci Burrell, and the ninth year for Leslie Levy and Jean Hyams.

Super Lawyers rates outstanding lawyers from multiple practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area.