STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator LORETTA WEINBERG
District 37 (Bergen)
Senator DIANE B. ALLEN
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Extends certain employment protections to professional cheerleaders.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning cheerleaders and employment status and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
“Cheerleader” means an individual who performs acrobatics, dance, or gymnastics exercises on a recurring basis that is affiliated with a professional sports team.
“Professional sports team” means a team at either a minor or major league level in the sport of baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, or soccer that plays a majority of its home games in New Jersey.
b. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a cheerleader who is utilized by a professional sports team during its exhibitions or games shall be deemed an employee for purposes of:
(1) the “New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law,” P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.);
(2) P.L.1965, c.173 (C.34:11-4.1 et seq.);
(3) the workers' compensation law, R.S.34:15-1 et seq.;
(4) the "unemployment compensation law," R.S.43:21-1 et seq.;
(5) the "Temporary Disability Benefits Law," P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-25 et al.);
(6) P.L.2008, c.17 (C.43:21-39.1 et al.);
(7) the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.); and
(8) the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act," N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq.
2. This act shall take effect on the 60th day following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill extends certain employment protections to professional cheerleaders. Under the bill, professional cheerleaders are individuals who perform acrobatics, dance, or gymnastics exercises on a recurring basis that is affiliated with a professional sports team. Professional sports teams are teams at either a minor or major league level in the sports of baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, and soccer that play the majority of their home games in New Jersey.
Specifically, this bill requires that cheerleaders who are utilized by professional sports teams during their exhibitions or games be deemed employees for purposes of the New Jersey labor laws, including the laws governing minimum wage and hours, the time and mode of payment, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, temporary disability benefits, family temporary disability leave, civil rights protections, and the gross income tax.
This bill is in response to complaints from cheerleaders throughout the United States that professional sports teams have required cheerleaders to sign contracts designating them as independent contractors. Because of this designation, employers could ignore provisions of law which many hourly wage employees benefit from, such as requirements for minimum wage, workers’ compensation, and temporary disability benefits. Under this bill, professional sports teams are required to designate cheerleaders as employees, thereby bringing them under the protection of those laws.