Dancers suing Houston area clubs for being treated as employees but not getting
texaschickenlittle
Texas
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/278869…
Some exotic dancers can make hundreds even thousands of dollars in a night.
“That is not a payment of wage that comes from the club itself,” says attorney Galvin Kennedy.
And in some cases Kennedy says the dancers must pay the club a fee and share their tips with club employees like managers and disc jockeys.
By not paying the dancers one single cent the owners of Gold Cup, Treasures, Cover Girls and Centerfolds are violating the Fair Labor Standards Act according to a lawsuit filed against the clubs.
That lawsuit claims these clubs should be paying dancers at least minimum wage in addition to the tips they receive and overtime for working more than 40 hours a week.
“The fact that they work in an establishment as an exotic dancer doesn't change the law for them,” Kennedy says.
Club owners maintain they don't have to pay the dancers because they are not employees but rather independent contractors.
That's hogwash says Kennedy.
Kennedy says the clubs have detailed rules the dancers must follow making them employees.
“They tell them the type of clothes to wear what days they have to work the hours they have to work,” says Kennedy. “If they try to go home early there's a fine they have to pay and all of these rules are implemented through a very detailed penalty or fine structure.”
Not so says Casey Wallace the attorney representing the four clubs being sued.
In a statement he tells us the dancers work when and where they want with no restrictions or requirements.
But Kennedy says the Supreme Court in Nevada, a state known for topless clubs sees it his way.
“The Supreme Court of that state declared that the dancers are employees not independent contractors that decision alone is sending ripples across the country,” Kennedy said.
If the class action suit here is successful some area dancers could reap thousands of dollars without touching a pole.
“In a recent case that we settled on behalf of about 182 exotic dancers up in Dallas the club paid two point three million dollars and the ladies ended up on average with close to 10 thousand dollars,” said Kennedy.
The attorney for the clubs says to suggest dancers would prefer to be classified as an employee make 7.25 an hour and be put on a schedule is incredibly naïve.
The clubs attorney says there are a host of dancers who would openly tell you this lawsuit is nuts.
Some exotic dancers can make hundreds even thousands of dollars in a night.
“That is not a payment of wage that comes from the club itself,” says attorney Galvin Kennedy.
And in some cases Kennedy says the dancers must pay the club a fee and share their tips with club employees like managers and disc jockeys.
By not paying the dancers one single cent the owners of Gold Cup, Treasures, Cover Girls and Centerfolds are violating the Fair Labor Standards Act according to a lawsuit filed against the clubs.
That lawsuit claims these clubs should be paying dancers at least minimum wage in addition to the tips they receive and overtime for working more than 40 hours a week.
“The fact that they work in an establishment as an exotic dancer doesn't change the law for them,” Kennedy says.
Club owners maintain they don't have to pay the dancers because they are not employees but rather independent contractors.
That's hogwash says Kennedy.
Kennedy says the clubs have detailed rules the dancers must follow making them employees.
“They tell them the type of clothes to wear what days they have to work the hours they have to work,” says Kennedy. “If they try to go home early there's a fine they have to pay and all of these rules are implemented through a very detailed penalty or fine structure.”
Not so says Casey Wallace the attorney representing the four clubs being sued.
In a statement he tells us the dancers work when and where they want with no restrictions or requirements.
But Kennedy says the Supreme Court in Nevada, a state known for topless clubs sees it his way.
“The Supreme Court of that state declared that the dancers are employees not independent contractors that decision alone is sending ripples across the country,” Kennedy said.
If the class action suit here is successful some area dancers could reap thousands of dollars without touching a pole.
“In a recent case that we settled on behalf of about 182 exotic dancers up in Dallas the club paid two point three million dollars and the ladies ended up on average with close to 10 thousand dollars,” said Kennedy.
The attorney for the clubs says to suggest dancers would prefer to be classified as an employee make 7.25 an hour and be put on a schedule is incredibly naïve.
The clubs attorney says there are a host of dancers who would openly tell you this lawsuit is nuts.
25 comments
The man who remodeled my kitchen was an independent contractor who came and went on his on schedule and who did the job according to his own expertise. If I had told him when he had to arrive and when he could leave, if I had told him what to wear, if I had supervised his activities and managed his job, then he would have been my employee.