Sheila McLaughlin

USA TODAY Sports

Bengals cheerleader Alexa Brenneman has filed a lawsuit against the team

Brenneman has accused the team of violating federal wage laws

A cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals has sued the football franchise accusing the team of violating federal wage laws.

Alexa Brenneman, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cincinnati and aimed at covering all Ben-Gals since 2011, said the cheer squad members put in more than 300 hours a season attending mandatory practices and charity events and performing required volunteer work but are paid a flat rate of $90 a game for cheering at 10 games during the 2013 season.

The suit says Brenneman, 24, of Downtown, was paid $2.85 an hour when the Ohio minimum wage in 2013 was $7.85 an hour. The 2013 season was the first season she cheered for the Bengals.

The complaint seeks a judge's order to stop the Bengals from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Ohio Minimum Fair Wage Standards Act, as well as unpaid wages for cheerleaders, attorney fees and court costs.

U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett, who is assigned to hear the case, first will have to determine whether the lawsuit meets certain criteria to proceed as a class action or collective action under federal labor law. If the suit is certified, all Ben-Gals since the 2011 season can join it, said Todd Naylor, an attorney on a legal team representing Brenneman. Up to 50 cheerleaders could be eligible, he said.

"They do it because they love it and I think we can have a fair debate in this country about what the minimum wage should be. What I don't think we can have a fair debate about is, if the law is on the books, whether it should be enforced," Naylor said.

"It's part of the Ohio Constitution that they are required to do this. If they work these hours then they should be compensated."

Bengals officials issued this statement through spokesman Jack Brennan:

"The Ben-Gals cheerleading program has long been a program run by former cheerleaders and has enjoyed broad support in the community and by members of the squad. The lawsuit appears to be a copycat lawsuit that mimics the one filed last month in California against a different NFL club. The Bengals will address the litigation in due course."

Current and former cheerleaders of the Oakland Raiders sued that team last month claiming the team does not pay for all hours worked and forces cheerleaders to pay many of their own business expenses. The suit said the Raiderettes were paid $1,250 a season.

Brenneman's Ben-Gals suit says cheerleaders in Cincinnati can make up to $900 a season. Members who don't cheer at a game get $45 for the day to make private appearances in the stadium's luxury suites.

Brenneman's suit noted that the Seattle Seahawks pays their team cheerleaders an hourly wage and for overtime, and that the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team compensates cheerleaders for rehearsals, games, appearances, promotions and dance clinics.

Rules for the Ben-Gals require the cheerleaders to attend two 3-hour practices a week during the football season and tardiness is punished with being benched for games. Cheerleaders also are required to sign up for a minimum of 12 charity events during the season in order to be picked for paid appearances. The women are paid $75 of the $300 the Bengals receive for their charity appearances, the suit alleged.

Ben-Gals also are required to pose for and promote the Cincinnati Ben-Gals calendar without pay while the team makes money off of calendar sales, the suit contends.

Sheila McLaughlin also writes for Cincinnati.com.