I think they have a leg to stand on and hope they win this one.
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
The Atlanta strip club Magic City has filed a federal lawsuit against former employed dancers, according to The Jasmine Brand. The counterclaim is in retaliation to another lawsuit that was filed earlier this year on behalf of the dancers.
The group of dancers filed a class action lawsuit against Magic City after accusing the strip club for not properly compensating them. The women claimed to have had a "work for hire" contract, yet they paid a fee to perform at the club every night.
Penalties for being late or sub-par dancing would result in fines and a one-day suspension. In addition to the penalties, the dancers claimed they were required to pay a percentage of their tips to the house mother among other fees.
The federal lawsuit requested minimum wage back pay for years worked along with calling the club out in violation of federal labor laws.
However, on Dec. 19, Magic City responded to the federal lawsuit. The popular strip club detailed that the dancers were not "employees" nor did they have to pay them wages. A counterclaim was filed against all of the dancers citing that they breached an agreement with the club. Magic City is now requesting the dancers pay for the damages caused after filing the lawsuit.
Based on court documentation, Magic City stated that any dancer looking to work at the club has to pay a dance floor rental fee. Dancers may also choose their own hours for work.
The Atlanta strip club claims that any dancer's written agreement with the company specifically states that they act as independent contractors and that legal action against the club is not prohibited.
Magic City is also seeking a court-ordered judgment against the dancers who filed the lawsuit, because they breached the original deal.
In the exclusive court documents obtained by TJB, dancers are not only responsible for their own props and costumes, but they must know how to dance and conserve their figure once they've signed their name on the agreement; otherwise, their contract would be aborted.
I'm personally tired of these "Former" dancers filing these suits. They were happy with the system when they were working but now that they are flipping burgers they see it as a way of making some money for doing nothing. And the lawyers love that 30-40% fee.
The group of dancers filed a class action lawsuit against Magic City after accusing the strip club for not properly compensating them. The women claimed to have had a "work for hire" contract, yet they paid a fee to perform at the club every night.
Penalties for being late or sub-par dancing would result in fines and a one-day suspension. In addition to the penalties, the dancers claimed they were required to pay a percentage of their tips to the house mother among other fees.
The federal lawsuit requested minimum wage back pay for years worked along with calling the club out in violation of federal labor laws.
However, on Dec. 19, Magic City responded to the federal lawsuit. The popular strip club detailed that the dancers were not "employees" nor did they have to pay them wages. A counterclaim was filed against all of the dancers citing that they breached an agreement with the club. Magic City is now requesting the dancers pay for the damages caused after filing the lawsuit.
Based on court documentation, Magic City stated that any dancer looking to work at the club has to pay a dance floor rental fee. Dancers may also choose their own hours for work.
The Atlanta strip club claims that any dancer's written agreement with the company specifically states that they act as independent contractors and that legal action against the club is not prohibited.
Magic City is also seeking a court-ordered judgment against the dancers who filed the lawsuit, because they breached the original deal.
In the exclusive court documents obtained by TJB, dancers are not only responsible for their own props and costumes, but they must know how to dance and conserve their figure once they've signed their name on the agreement; otherwise, their contract would be aborted.
I'm personally tired of these "Former" dancers filing these suits. They were happy with the system when they were working but now that they are flipping burgers they see it as a way of making some money for doing nothing. And the lawyers love that 30-40% fee.
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17 comments
Wonder what my Papi_Chulo thinks of that "conserve their figure" rule?
Lawyers are parasites. Anything for a quick buck.
Che, you should look up the context in which that quote was used. It does not support an argument against lawyers.
I hope the strip club wins and many others take note of how their contract is written and cover themselves accordingly.
I have never paid company employees out of my money. The purpose is for them to pay me!
I have never paid a late fee for coming into work late. Simply didn't make the money for that time. The same as a dancer would have to deal with.
If she is too out of line, just fire her. (Which admittedly, finding a woman to take her clothes off for a large group of men is probably hard to find.)
I think the safest bet is to give her two weeks off instead of a fine.
The only facts we know are these:
1. Lawyers suck. They always have sucked, and they always will suck.
2. You can pretty much assume that strippers have no clue what their contracts say or even mean, nor do they have any clue about local laws, so clearly somebody coached them.
3. You can also pretty much assume that the club owners and their lawyers know exactly what the contracts say, and the local laws in that jurisdiction. And it's a fairly safe bet that whatever policies they had in place were legal.
Other than that, who the fuck knows who's right. If I had to bet on it, I'd assume that one of the strippers had a customer or a boyfriend who was a lawyer and he had an idea on how to make some money.
There's a reason why all these cases in Georgia are settling or are resulting in favorable verdicts to the dancers--it's because the clubs are in clear and blatant violation of the employment laws when it comes to "independent contractor v. employee" status.
I don't know why so many people here are so hostile to the dancers (and their lawyers) just for seeking the restitution that the law says they are entitled to. If you found out you were legally entitled to a bunch of back pay from your job would you turn it down?????
The bias here against dancers and lawyers is for a very obvious reason. Our experience with both has shown them to both be totally dishonest, and a bunch of other bad stuff. That doesn't mean that business owners are always clean and honest. However, the business owners are risking a LOT in doing illegal stuff, while the strippers risk nothing.
So yeah, nobody knows who is right in this case because nobody has read the contracts, and nobody knows the local laws. However, it's also not unreasonable to look at strippers and lawyers with a very negative bias.
That said the only reason to work as a tipped employee has always been that you get pid largely in cash and can avoid a lot of taxes based on what you declare. With waiters you are taxed based on your sales and the tips you are assumed to have made as a percentage of those sales. Strippers may be tracked based on VIP room and logged dances at many clubs, but there is a whole lot more opportunity for making free untaxed cash. They should be careful what they wish for in some cases.
Folks lets remember the real "regulation" problem in most of the US: it's way too hard to open a strip club. Both custies and dancers would be better off if existing clubs had more competition. Nobody sheds a tear for dancers when the system hurts them, so more power to them if they work the system when it helps them.
Someone just needs to study the law and set it up so it is right and fair from the beginning.
SJG