Scum bag attorney files class action suit for "exotic" dancers in Ohio.
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A group of exotic dancers has filed a class action lawsuit against several Ohio strip clubs for unpaid wages.
According to court documents, "the lawsuit alleges that the strip clubs implement illegal policies to systematically oppress and deny dancers the wages they are entitled to under the law."
The dancers claim that the clubs pay no wages and require them to pay illegal rent, fines, fees, and charges, as well as a club fee to work their shift. Court documents say, "the clubs attempt to circumvent the by calling dancers "tenants," instead of employees."
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The exotic dancers say they should be giving the same protection and rights the law provides other employees.
"Chapin Legal Group, LLC is currently investigating similar claims against strip clubs throughout Ohio," according to a press release.
According to court documents, "the lawsuit alleges that the strip clubs implement illegal policies to systematically oppress and deny dancers the wages they are entitled to under the law."
The dancers claim that the clubs pay no wages and require them to pay illegal rent, fines, fees, and charges, as well as a club fee to work their shift. Court documents say, "the clubs attempt to circumvent the by calling dancers "tenants," instead of employees."
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The exotic dancers say they should be giving the same protection and rights the law provides other employees.
"Chapin Legal Group, LLC is currently investigating similar claims against strip clubs throughout Ohio," according to a press release.
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38 comments
The dancers, however, keep winning these lawsuits because the clubs are clearly violating the law. The clubs want to treat dancers as employees but not pay unemployment and social security taxes as required by law. Strip club owners do not get to make their own laws just because they profit from it.
There’s no reason for them to cheat their employees other than earning unjustified profits. Greedy bastards getting what’s coming to them.
I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that the distinction between contractors and employees is clear. I can hire someone to take care of my lawn and garden. If I tell him what I want done but do not tell him when he can come and go and what he can wear and when he can take breaks and generally do not supervise his work, he is a contractor. But if I tell him to wear a certain uniform and require him to arrive at 9AM and leave and 3PM and supervise the way he does his work, he is an employee. I cannot just decide to classify him as a contractor. I have to obey the law.
I agree that the independent contractor model is better for both us customers and the dancers. What the strip club owners need to do is respect the dancers' status as independent contractors.
Well, no, but there are degrees of their sleaziness, sorta like Dante's circles of hell.
The lowest circle, as we all know, is made up of divorce lawyers.
What did you call a plane full of lawyers that crashes into the ocean: a good start!
Why do medical research labs sometimes use lawyers instead of rats to do tests: Because there are things a rat will just not do!
Why did the lawyer survive in sharks infested waters after a shipwreck when everyone else got eaten: Professional courtesy!
Imagine clubs that have to put barriers between dancers and customers in order to keep them safe from unwanted contact (ala Lusty Lady, which is now closed), aging fat dancers that can't be fired, limitations on stage shows because of insurance issues and employee safety, disallowed contact in the LD/VIP area, etc.,etc. Sure, let's have more of that.
MA is the only state, to my knowledge, in which the statutory model has been widely adopted. Most of the clubs in MA suck ass anyway and there less than 40 of them, so it is a small sample size to work with, but I'm guessing that employee related lawsuits are only a matter of time. In most other places where clubs were sued, the clubs settled out of court and then made contractual and procedural changes to try to avoid adopting the employer model and I pray for their continued success. Oh, and MA is officially a no contact state already, which I think made the model a bit easier to adopt, but that rule is often ignored by the dancers - at least for now.
I hope that the Ohio clubs find a way to deal with this that is similar to what clubs in NYC and LV, among other places, have done.
I think everyone (dancers, PLs, clubs) agree that the IC model is best for everyone, clubs are just gonna have to adjust to not expecting they can treat dancers as employees.
I agree that the some club owners have brought this on by the way they treat the dancers but I doubt that many current or future strippers would want to be treated as employees. They know the downside to that.
They can discuss items like this that threaten the industry and share best practices for how to protect themselves and adapt if necessary.
It can rotate through different cities: Miami, Tampa, Detroit, Las Vegas, ...
http://www.acenational.org/
A very very high paid lawyer once told me my favorite lawyer joke...
"Whats the difference between a sperm and a lawyer?
A sperm at least stands a one in a billion chance of becoming human" :P
And yes of course it is always the former dancers.
Not really that big of a deal. Contractor status will not go away. Clubs just need to be more careful about how they use it.
We should have some attorney's here specializing in strip club issues.
SJG
www.acenational.org"
Oops. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't just used an an excuse to bring their favorites along for a weekend of debauchery.
I wouldn't be surprised if they just use it as an excuse to bring some strippers along for a weekend of debauchery.
But usually the mileage is lower when dancers get paid. Management has to crack the whip.
But the club stays out of trouble, as girls are not going over the limits. Brass Rail has very little LE trouble.
Once girls are paying access fees and taking money off of customers by their own whiles, what they do starts to increase, and its the wildest most aggressive girls who rule.
Also, that way management can just keep adding more and more girls to the roster. Those who jump in know there will be competition, but they are ready for it.
It can be fun! Our underground places have been like this, for as long as they lasted.
We have attorneys here. Presumably they are competent at what they do. But strip clubs present a whole host of legal issues. And the law is not what it says in the law books, its what courts have already decided. So strip club owners need this specialized type of lawyering. Would be good of we also had access to that in our discussions.
SJG
Led Zeppelin, 1969 Danish TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-WSbMW7…
SJG
SJG
Just got to use one's head about this.
Need to make sure it won't cause a tax problem for either party.
:) :) :)
SJG