The Legends Football League, formerly known as the Lingerie Football League, or Lingerie League, is facing a lawsuit from a former Los Angeles Temptation player who claims the league treated her and other players in the league as independent contractors rather than employees, thus denying them overtime pay, according to Westsidetoday.com. Melissa Margulies, 27, who had run for the USC women’s track team, officially sued the league and its owner and founder, Mitchell Mortaza.
Margulies, who played in the league from 2010-13, wants to include other players in the league who would have been affected by the league’s policy from the time a verdict is reached to four years before that date.According to Westside.com, her suit alleges that the league “willfully misclassified” players as independent contractors even though there were various requirements the league imposed on the players, from their presence at practices and promotional events to eschewing any extra-curricular actions where they could be injured seriously. She also noted that the league required the players to relinquish all publicity rights to the league.
The lawsuit charges, “Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how players in a team sports league could ever qualify as independent contractors. The nature of team sports demands that players follow league and team rules or face discipline or termination.”
In addition to the aforementioned requirements, the suit noted that the players were not reimbursed for expenses related to their work and were not given the money they were owed within the proper time period after they retired from the league.
The suit explains that the Lingerie Football League was brought into existence after its debut as a Super Bowl halftime show, later evolving into a league with 10 teams in the United States and nine others in Canada and Australia.
