Labor Lawsuits at Two RI Strip Clubs: Foxy Lady and Wild Zebra
Call.Me.Ishmael
Rhode Island
Here's two related stories published Sept. 1 and Sept. 24 of 2021 in the Providence Journal Bulletin. The Wild Zebra closed (it's now Silhouettes), the lawsuit persisted against the owners. Club Fantasies is also mentioned at the end of one of the stories.
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Dancers reach $415,000 settlement against Wild Zebra strip club over fair-wage claims
Published Sept. 1 2021
PROVIDENCE — Exotic dancers at the former Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club on Allens Avenue have agreed to settle allegations that the club failed to pay them fair wages and forced them to turn over their tips for $415,000.
More than 20 dancers are seeking approval of a settlement of a lawsuit alleging that the club violated federal fair labor laws by treating them as independent contractors, depriving them of minimum wage and overtime benefits. The women, who generally worked four- to six-hour shifts, had to pay $100 house fees, money the dancers say amounted to “stolen gratuities" they received from patrons for entertainment and private lap dances.
The women, who worked at the 245 Allens Ave. club from 2016 through the filing of the lawsuit in 2019, would be paid sums running from a low of $5,000 up to $27,000 under the terms.
The lawyers would receive $186,000, plus $11,900 in costs, if the settlement wins the approval next week from U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith. The lawsuit named the club and its owner, Christopher Vianello, as defendants.
"Our main concern was due to COVID," said John Kristensen, the California lawyer who represented the women with local attorney, Chip Muller. Government ordered shut downs during the pandemic left the Wild Zebra, along with many businesses, struggling.
"With COVID, we got a good result under the circumstances," Kristensen said.
Strip clubs throughout Providence and the nation are facing similar legal challenges to workplace practices that dancers say leave them without rights to protections such as overtime and minimum wage.
Club Fantasies strip club, for example, last year agreed to pay $750,000 to settle a federal class-action lawsuit brought by dancers, accusing the Sims Avenue establishment of failing to pay them wages and illegally forcing them to turn over their tips.
Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club, through its corporate owner Biscayne Entertainment, in November agreed to be monitored for a year in exchange for its licenses being restored amid allegations of prostitution.
The club reached an agreement with with the city, the Providence Board of Licenses and the Department of Public Safety in which it agreed to drop a federal lawsuit challenging the revocation of its licenses in exchange for being monitored by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams for a year or until the club or its licenses are sold.
The club has since reopened under new ownership as Silhouettes.
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RI judge approves fair-labor settlements with dancers at 2 Providence strip clubs
Published Sept. 24 2021
PROVIDENCE — A federal judge this week granted preliminary approval to settlements reached between exotic dancers and two Providence clubs.
U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith on Thursday signed off initially on agreements to settle fair-labor claims brought by dancers at the Foxy Lady and the former Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club on Allens Avenue.
The Foxy Lady agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve the class-action suit brought by dancers in May 2015 against the owners, Gulliver’s Tavern Inc. and Solid Gold Properties.
A U.S. District Court judge on Thursday signed off initially on agreements to settle fair-labor claims brought in 2015 by dancers at the Foxy Lady strip club in Providence.
Under the terms, $25,000 will go to each of the lead plaintiffs, Ruby Levi and Emily Chicoine. Up to one-third or $500,000 will go toward legal fees and litigation costs.
The dancers had argued that the Chalkstone Avenue club had misclassified them and other entertainers who provided exotic dancing services beginning in May 2012 as independent contractors. They alleged, too, that their employers had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law because they did not receive all the wages they were owed and were unlawfully forced to “tip-out” the house mom, deejay and others as a condition of their employment.
Smith on Thursday ruled that the settlement terms were “fair, reasonable, and adequate.” A final fairness hearing will take place Jan. 18.
Likewise, Judge Smith granted initial approval to an agreement reached with the dancers at the former Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club. The dancers there agreed to settle allegations that the club failed to pay them fair wages and forced them to turn over their tips for $415,000.
More than 20 dancers had alleged that the club violated federal fair labor laws by treating them as independent contractors, depriving them of minimum wage and overtime benefits. The women, who generally worked four- to six-hour shifts, had to pay $100 house fees, money the dancers say amounted to “stolen gratuities" they received from patrons for entertainment and private lap dances.
The women, who worked at the 245 Allens Ave. club from 2016 through the filing of the lawsuit in 2019, would be paid sums ranging from $5,000 up to $27,000 under the terms.
The lawyers would receive $186,000, plus $11,900 in costs. The lawsuit named the club and its owner, Christopher Vianello, as defendants.
**END**
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Dancers reach $415,000 settlement against Wild Zebra strip club over fair-wage claims
Published Sept. 1 2021
PROVIDENCE — Exotic dancers at the former Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club on Allens Avenue have agreed to settle allegations that the club failed to pay them fair wages and forced them to turn over their tips for $415,000.
More than 20 dancers are seeking approval of a settlement of a lawsuit alleging that the club violated federal fair labor laws by treating them as independent contractors, depriving them of minimum wage and overtime benefits. The women, who generally worked four- to six-hour shifts, had to pay $100 house fees, money the dancers say amounted to “stolen gratuities" they received from patrons for entertainment and private lap dances.
The women, who worked at the 245 Allens Ave. club from 2016 through the filing of the lawsuit in 2019, would be paid sums running from a low of $5,000 up to $27,000 under the terms.
The lawyers would receive $186,000, plus $11,900 in costs, if the settlement wins the approval next week from U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith. The lawsuit named the club and its owner, Christopher Vianello, as defendants.
"Our main concern was due to COVID," said John Kristensen, the California lawyer who represented the women with local attorney, Chip Muller. Government ordered shut downs during the pandemic left the Wild Zebra, along with many businesses, struggling.
"With COVID, we got a good result under the circumstances," Kristensen said.
Strip clubs throughout Providence and the nation are facing similar legal challenges to workplace practices that dancers say leave them without rights to protections such as overtime and minimum wage.
Club Fantasies strip club, for example, last year agreed to pay $750,000 to settle a federal class-action lawsuit brought by dancers, accusing the Sims Avenue establishment of failing to pay them wages and illegally forcing them to turn over their tips.
Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club, through its corporate owner Biscayne Entertainment, in November agreed to be monitored for a year in exchange for its licenses being restored amid allegations of prostitution.
The club reached an agreement with with the city, the Providence Board of Licenses and the Department of Public Safety in which it agreed to drop a federal lawsuit challenging the revocation of its licenses in exchange for being monitored by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams for a year or until the club or its licenses are sold.
The club has since reopened under new ownership as Silhouettes.
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RI judge approves fair-labor settlements with dancers at 2 Providence strip clubs
Published Sept. 24 2021
PROVIDENCE — A federal judge this week granted preliminary approval to settlements reached between exotic dancers and two Providence clubs.
U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith on Thursday signed off initially on agreements to settle fair-labor claims brought by dancers at the Foxy Lady and the former Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club on Allens Avenue.
The Foxy Lady agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve the class-action suit brought by dancers in May 2015 against the owners, Gulliver’s Tavern Inc. and Solid Gold Properties.
A U.S. District Court judge on Thursday signed off initially on agreements to settle fair-labor claims brought in 2015 by dancers at the Foxy Lady strip club in Providence.
Under the terms, $25,000 will go to each of the lead plaintiffs, Ruby Levi and Emily Chicoine. Up to one-third or $500,000 will go toward legal fees and litigation costs.
The dancers had argued that the Chalkstone Avenue club had misclassified them and other entertainers who provided exotic dancing services beginning in May 2012 as independent contractors. They alleged, too, that their employers had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law because they did not receive all the wages they were owed and were unlawfully forced to “tip-out” the house mom, deejay and others as a condition of their employment.
Smith on Thursday ruled that the settlement terms were “fair, reasonable, and adequate.” A final fairness hearing will take place Jan. 18.
Likewise, Judge Smith granted initial approval to an agreement reached with the dancers at the former Wild Zebra Gentlemen’s Club. The dancers there agreed to settle allegations that the club failed to pay them fair wages and forced them to turn over their tips for $415,000.
More than 20 dancers had alleged that the club violated federal fair labor laws by treating them as independent contractors, depriving them of minimum wage and overtime benefits. The women, who generally worked four- to six-hour shifts, had to pay $100 house fees, money the dancers say amounted to “stolen gratuities" they received from patrons for entertainment and private lap dances.
The women, who worked at the 245 Allens Ave. club from 2016 through the filing of the lawsuit in 2019, would be paid sums ranging from $5,000 up to $27,000 under the terms.
The lawyers would receive $186,000, plus $11,900 in costs. The lawsuit named the club and its owner, Christopher Vianello, as defendants.
**END**
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