Providence Strip Clubs Sued For Failing to Pay Minimum Wage

Two Providence strip clubs sued, again! Recently, gentleman’s clubs in Providence, RI were sued—again—-for failure to pay minimum wage and overtime. Like a recent, previously filed lawsuit, both cases allege violations of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, illegal forced tip-sharing and the practice of charging “house-fees”.

               The Cadillac Lounge and Club Desire are under heavy scrutiny since both clubs have a history of violating wage laws. Club Desire has just settled an FLSA lawsuit last November, and Cadillac Lounge is in the process of settling an FLSA claim from 2015 right now.

               This time around, the two lawsuits against The Cadillac Lounge and Club Desire are seeking to be class-action certified. This would allow other dancers who worked at those clubs during the same time frame to join the lawsuit and recover lost wages.

Source: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190828/dancers-sue-providence-strip-clubs-alleging-unfair-labor-practices

Dancer Sues Fort Worth Cabaret Club For Failing to Pay Minimum Wage

A new lawsuit has become public knowledge in Fort Worth, Texas where an exotic dancer is claiming that Corsets Cabaret refused to compensate her for the hours she worked while employed there. Not only did they refuse to pay even minimum wage, they allegedly charged the dancers extra fees to pass “the cost of doing business onto the employees of the club”.

The plaintiff  is seeking to recover compensation for the hours she worked, as well as the tips she had to give the house, which were misappropriated to employees that did not customarily receive tips outside of a valid tip pool.

An unidentified manager of said club commented to reporters, calling the lawsuit a joke and saying that the plaintiff was terminated for failing to work a full six-hour shift. Without realizing it, he has completely admitted to identifying that the girls are being misclassified as independent contractors. Showing control over the dancers, including how long the shift must be, means that they are employees of the club. 

Source: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dancer-Sues-Fort-Worth-Club-for-Failing-to-Pay-Minimum-Wage-521093961.html

Class Action Lawsuit involves More Than 2,000 Women and Well-Known Rick’s Cabaret in New York City

A court ruling in favor of current and former exotic dancers orders Rick’s Cabaret of New York City to pay $10 million dollars of back pay that the girls earned from 2005 – 2012. The lawsuit was originally filed in November 2010, and wasn’t settled until November 2014. Club owners and managers continue to act surprised and fight the lawsuits, and ask for appeals. Almost no club owners have won lawsuits against strippers who claim Federal Labor Standards Act violations, yet many clubs file appeals and try to lessen the amount of money the have to pay back the girls. The Attorney for the exotic dancers in New York City put out a statement after the initial ruling of $10 million dollars, saying “We are very pleased with the court’s well-reasoned and thorough decision, and are confident that we will prevail at trial and secure an even greater monetary judgment, The court’s decision reflects that exotic dancers are entitled to the same legal protections as other employees, and is a resounding victory for a group whose voices are all too often ignored.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2014/11/15/us/new-york-strippers-lawsuit/index.html

First Big Win For Dancers

In 2009, a judge awarded $13 Million dollars to a group of 14 strippers who claimed that a group of strip clubs, all owned by Spearmint Rhino, violated Labor Laws. This lawsuit gave precedent, when there was none before. Along with the $13 Million dollars, the court also ruled that the strip clubs would no longer treat the girls like independent contractors – they would treat them like employees; that included ending the clubs tradition of charging “stage fees”.

Source: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Strippers-Win-13-Million-Settlement-Wages-Dispute-179336841.html

Strip Club Dancers Sue For Pay

“Strip Club Dancers are suing clubs over pay-and Winning” According to the Baltimore Sun, dancers all over the country have been filing lawsuits against Clubs for back pay, and winning every case. For example, In New York City, more than 2,000 dancers who worked at Rick’s Cabaret between 2005 and 2012 were awarded $10.9 million in a class-action lawsuit they brought against their employer.

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Get the money you earned but don’t wait too long to file your lawsuit. We’re angered that clubs and club owners have been getting away with such criminal acts for such a long period of time. Now is the time to make a difference. One dancer, who worked at Scores in Baltimore, missed out on her money because she waited too long to report the misconduct of her club. The article notes that the statute of limitation—the time in which to file a lawsuit—is three years.

A select few clubs have started paying the dancers, like Norma Jean’s in Baltimore, who said an hourly wage is a way to show dancers that they are appreciated. One manager of the club said, “We can’t make money without them, they deserve respect like anyone else.”

Of course, many (if not most) clubs still violate The Federal Labor Standards Act with respect to how they compensate dancers.  Just because the industry has been run a certain way for what seems like forever doesn’t mean it’s fair or just; The truth is that strip clubs would only be a bars if it went for the exotic dancers who put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. Without dancers, there are no strip clubs, and strip clubs are never open without dancers present. And, clubs control how a dancer works, her appearance, what time she is allowed to leave, what days she can work, and how much she can charge. The amount of control exercised by club owners doesn’t resemble an “Independent Contractor” relationship It is an Employee – Employer relationship.

Source: https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md-dancer-pay-lawsuits-20161110-story.html

6 Years Later – Still Participating in Wage Theft

Maximize profits and minimize overhead costs – that is how one keeps a business alive. DB’s Golden Banana strip club in Peabody, MA certainly thought they could do that by violating tip sharing laws, which states that an employee who does not customarily and regularly receive tips is not allowed to participate in a mandatory tip pool. They haven’t fundamentally fixed the way they violate the Federal Labor Standards Act, even though they have already lost a lawsuit over the same laws with a different group of girls in 2013. The 2013 ruling was only won by the exotic dancers after the judge made it clear that they were improperly classified as “independent contractors”. Will the court make a similar ruling in this case? We will have to wait to find out, as the most recent lawsuit against DB’s Golden Banana was filed in late March 2019 and will take at least a few months to settle.

Source: https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/dancers-sue-strip-club-over-fee-tip-sharing/article_237b9861-6907-5f9d-a8fe-63791707a2ec.html

Dancers Fight for Labor Rights in Dispute With Clubs

“You should be paid to work. You shouldn’t pay to work” according to a recent CNN expose on the labor law violations of gentleman’s clubs. Once dancer filed a lawsuit to collect on amounts she should have been paid, but wasn’t.  The lawsuit also calls for a correction in the classification of exotic dancers – they are employees (not independent contractors) and deserve to be compensated as such. Clubs and club owners cannot continue to get away with treating women like employees but misclassifying them as independent contractors. Classifying dancers as employees will entitled them to social security benefits, workers compensation benefits, and unemployment benefits if they are laid off or fired.

Source: https://money.cnn.com/2013/03/21/news/economy/stripper-labor-rights/index.html

L.A.’s Exotic Dancers Are Launching a Labor Movement

“One big step forward and 2 giant steps back.” In the Spring of 2018, the California Supreme Court issued an important ruling about what constitutes an independent contractor. Unfortunately, gentleman’s clubs have been slow to comply with the law, and still refuse to pay dancers their full wage.

After fighting for basic labor rights, exotic dancers are, as a matter of California law, “employees”not independent contractors. Now, clubs are required to pay minimum wage, and should be offered health care and worker’s compensation benefits. Instead of being a successful step towards equality – which it should have been, club owners are still taking advantage of the girls. Manipulating numbers so the club doesn’t have to pay them for all of the hours that they dance, forcing dancers to perform a certain number of dances for free while the club pockets the tips, forcing dancers to sign “releases” of their wage and hour claims, and taking away shifts to punish them for speaking up for themselves. Many clubs even refuse to issue basic w-2 forms to dancers, in an effort to keep dancers from knowing whether or not they are being paid for all hours.  Exotic dancers have always been employees, and there is not requirement that Club ownership make life difficult for dancers just because Club owners don’t want to comply with basic labor laws.

Source: https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/soldiers-of-pole-stripper-union/

Entertainer sues Milwaukee Club

A lawsuit against a Milwaukee club could shed light on whether dancers are “independent contractors” or not. According to recent reports, Mahogany Hinton is suing the former owner of “Art’s Performing Center.” “Art’s Performing Center” was, until its recent closure, the oldest strip club in Milwaukee. The lawsuit, filed in Federal Court asks for class action status so other club workers can join.

 This is not the first time this club and owner have been sued over an illegal payment system. According to Hinton, she had to survive solely on tips, and had to pay club multiple fees on everything from using the stage to being late to work.

Source: https://wsau.com/news/articles/2019/apr/30/stripper-sues-milwaukee-club/

After Years of Lawsuits, Dancers Still Fighting For Employee Status

Despite a $6.5M settlement by Déjà Vu Consulting (which owns Déjà vu, Larry Flynt Hustler Club, Showgirls, and Little Darlings clubs), and despite years of litigation, exotic dancers are still fighting to be classified as employees under Federal and State wage and hour laws. According to the Las Vegas Sun, stripper lawsuits have been active since 2008, and Déjà Vu nightclubs settled the first round of cases in Michigan in 201 1 for $11.5M. Dancers in Las Vegas have long protested work conditions at clubs, and because they are improperly classified as “independent contractors” they are not paid minimum wage, insurance benefits, or workers compensation. Strip clubs “have never won a case” and are not independent contractors “under any stretch of the imagination”

Source: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/feb/20/strippers-wages-benefits-labor-lawsuits/