Lingerie football player sues league over pay – Las Vegas Review

A former Las Vegas Sin player has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the Legends Football League, formerly the Lingerie Football League, of failing to pay the required minimum wage and overtime to hundreds of employees.

Robin Johnson, who lives in Las Vegas, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court as a type of class action known as a “collective action.” She played for the Las Vegas Sin from September 2011 to September 2013.

The lawsuit claims the professional football league and Mitchell Mortaza, its owner and founder, have wrongfully classified Johnson “and hundreds of similarly situated employees” as independent contractors who are exempt from minimum wage and overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“It is difficult to imagine how players in a team sports league could ever qualify as independent contractors,” the document states. “The nature of team sports demands that players follow league and team rules or face discipline or termination.”

No one could be reached Wednesday at the league’s Las Vegas office.

According to the complaint, the league began as a halftime show during the Super Bowl and has grown into a 10-team league in the United States, a five-team league in Australia, and a four-team league in Canada. It features female players who wear little clothing.

Johnson’s lawsuit alleges that she and other football players “were not paid the required minimum wage on a weekly basis and were not paid the overtime premium for work in excess of 40 hours per week.”

The defendants determined how much Johnson and other players were paid, according to the lawsuit.

“The amount was purportedly tied to such factors as ticket sales and whether the team won or lost,” the complaint states.

However, according to the document, there were entire seasons where Johnson and other players received no income.

“This idea that they can try to shift the cost of running that league onto the players — it’s just trying to cheat them, and it’s trying to save itself some money,” said California attorney Michael Morrison, who represents Johnson.

Morrison also represents Melissa Margulies, a former Los Angeles Temptation player who has filed a similar lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Find her on Twitter: @CarriGeer.

Share and Enjoy

Made in LA Lingerie Is Just the Foundation

When twin sisters Bonnie Rae Boyes and Shelah Jean founded Noe Undergarments last year, they wanted to create a line that would fit in both lingerie stores and contemporary boutiques.

“The line came about from a desire to create a hybrid collection of innerwear meets ready-to-wear. Both of us have always dressed utilizing lingerie as more wearable exterior pieces, so we wanted to create a brand that had the philosophy of ‘innerwear exposed’ at its core design aesthetic,” said Boyes, who serves as creative director for the line.

Boyes has a background in fashion marketing and served as a marketing director for nine years at a sports/swim apparel brand before launching Noe. The sisters grew up near the beaches of Kauai, Hawaii, but Noe is based in Laguna Beach, Calif., and produced in Los Angeles.

The Spring/Summer 2015 collection includes a mix of bras, panties, bodysuits, leggings, slips and lounge-style pieces. Stand-out items include the bustier, knee-length boxer short, sheer tops with matching bottoms, sweeping slip dresses, garter belts and jumpers.

“We really looked at everything from menswear to architecture as we designed the collection and found bits of influences from across a multitude of environments. Each piece was designed to have an ironic or unexpected element—denim in bras, silk mixed with rubber neoprene straps, mesh in [ready-to-wear] silhouette pieces,” Boyes said.

Each season, the line is developed so that Noe consumers can interchange their pieces from innerwear to outerwear and mix pieces from season to season. The bras can be layered, tights used as leggings and slips worn over jeans, suggested Boyes. For example, the silk long-line bra can be worn with a chic blazer and vintage Levi’s.

Actress Jaime King was spotted wearing the “Ryan” silk bustier bra as a top combined with an open-jacket look. Noe’s leather bras are perfect with a high-waisted pencil skirt, and the slips dresses can be used as coverups over a swimsuit or bodysuit.

The current collection includes four new capsule groups, each with its own fabrication and aesthetic but that fits alongside the entire Spring/Summer 2015 collection.

“The Mick capsule is primarily our leather and mesh capsule, crafted of Italian lambskin and a soft power mesh from Belgium. We played with these two fabrications to create a very progressive and unique look,” Boyes said. They also feature a cropped leather tee, leather mini skirt with mesh slip under-layer, leather flutter shorts and a mesh racer chemise.

There are fine trims and unique cutouts and fits that contribute to a modern sensibility. “We don’t use prints in our fabrications, so it really allows a great open palette to work with brilliant trims to make a statement without making the garment too complicated or distracting,” Boyes said. There’s a Japanese herringbone elastic trim that is used for straps, as well as sporty rubber and neoprene trim for strapping and waistbands. Noe uses custom-developed square gold hardware for straps and hook closures, as well as a custom-designed wide black and white mesh eye hook and soft-seam closure, which is used on some of the bras and bodysuits. Plus, all of Noe’s interior panty lining is a citrine yellow color, as well, Boyes said.

Everything is manufactured in Los Angeles. As for fabrics, the meshes and patented nano Lycra are sourced from Belgium, silks are from Asia, lambskin leather is from Italy, and the rayon/Lycra is made in the States. Most of the elastics are from Japan.

Wholesale price points range from $50 to $220. Noe undergarments are currently sold at a number of retailers, including Ron Herman, American Rag, Journelle, Maison Simons, Revolve, Anthropologie, The Celect, Guild, The Montauk Beach House, Largo Drive and For Artists Only.

For more information, visit www.noeundergarments.com. For sales information, contact Jenna Woodhull at jenna@bandofmartians.com.

Share and Enjoy