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The U.S. women's national soccer team (USWNT) filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to restore an equal pay case against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) on Monday, the same day the team agreed with the federation to extend its labor contract by three months.
This "no-strike/no-lockout agreement," as it was described by Reuters, will continue through the end of March as National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) players continue to negotiate a new labor contract with the USSF.
According to the agreement, the USSF will no longer pay players' salaries to play in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), and players will be employed directly by the NWSL.
"USWNT players will have no restrictions as to the league in which they play club soccer," said the USWNT's union in a statement on Monday. "Players who choose the NWSL will sign directly with the NWSL/an NWSL club and will be employed by the NWSL."
The brief the players filed continues an effort that started in March 2019, when they sued the USSF, accusing the federation of unequal pay compared to the men's team.
However, in May 2020, U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled that the women's team rejected an agreement similar to the men's in favor of one with higher base pay and benefits.
The USSF argued that the pay inequality comes from prize money awarded by FIFA, which the federation cannot control. FIFA provided $400 million in prize money for the 2018 men's World Cup divided between the qualifying teams, as opposed to $30 million for the 2019 Women's World Cup.
The two sides reached a settlement a year ago guaranteeing the players equal working conditions. The new filing asserts that the judge's ruling with respect to the players' equal pay claims was incorrect.
The players sued the USSF in March 2019, contending they have not been paid equitably under their collective bargaining agreement compared to what the men's team received under its agreement, which expired in December 2018. The women asked for more than $64 million in damages plus $3 million in interest under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Klausner issued a summary judgment in favor of the federation on the pay claim in May 2020. The judge ruled the women rejected a pay-to-play structure similar to the one in the men's agreement with the USSF and accepted greater base salaries and benefits than the men. He allowed their allegation of discriminatory working conditions to go to trial, and the sides reached a settlement on that portion.
"The district court erred as a matter of law in holding that the women could not establish a prima facie case under the Equal Pay Act because their overall and per-game compensation was greater than the men's," lawyers for the players wrote in a reply brief filed Monday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. "The Equal Pay Act asks whether the rate of pay -- not the total compensation -- is equal. And here, the rate analysis must account for the fact that the players are paid not only to play, but to win,"
The court asked the parties on November 23 to review dates for possible oral arguments in Pasadena, California, from March through May. The case will be assigned to a three-judge panel.
The USSF said the women accepted a labor contract with greater guaranteed pay than the men and additional benefits.
"U.S. Soccer remains committed to equal pay for our senior national team players and ensuring that they remain among the highest-paid in the world," the federation said in a statement.
The USSF said on September 14 it had offered identical contracts to the men's and women's unions, which are separate and have no obligation under federal labor law to agree to similar terms. The federation met jointly with the unions on November 29 and was set to meet with the women's union Monday.
"We'll continue to encourage both our USWNT and USMNT to come together around one table to agree on a path forward that benefits everyone," the USSF said.
Under their labor contract, U.S. men got $55,000 each for making the 2014 World Cup roster, then split $4.3 million for earning four points in the group stage and reaching the knockout stage. That calculated to just under $187,000 per player.
The U.S. women split $862,500 for making the roster and $2.53 million for winning the 2019 World Cup, which came to $147,500 per player. If they had performed equivalently to the men, the bonus for each under their deal would have been $37,500. The women also receive payments for a post-World Cup tour that they split: $350,000 per game if they won, $300,000 if they finished second and $250,000 if they were third.
The deals also have different bonus structures for qualifying.
Molly Levinson, spokeswoman for the players, said "despite much lip service to equal pay, USSF and its leaders ... did not and have not offered to pay women players equally."
"USSF has failed to fix a culture that has been broken for decades that intentionally devalues women," Levinson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Update 12/14/21 11:15 AM ET- This story has been updated with additional information.
