Exotic Dancers Win Minimum Wage Lawsuit

Samara Bober — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:22:11 +0000

A court has determined that exotic dancers who performed at Rick’s Cabaret, an adult nightclub in New York, were employees covered by federal and state wage laws. A class action consisting of strippers sued the night club where they worked for unpaid minimum wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York wage laws. The gentlemen’s club did not pay the dancers any wages, took a portion of the dancers’ performance fees, and imposed fines if the dancers violated certain rules. The adult nightclub claimed unsuccessfully that the dancers were not covered by the minimum wage laws because they were independent contractors. The court determined the exotic dancers were employees, not independent contractors, because the club exercised so much control over the adult dancers that it could be described as “micromanagement.” For example, the club required the exotic dancers to work eight hour shifts, wear stiletto heels that were a least 4 inches high, prohibited body glitter, and required any tattoos to be covered by make-up. The court in the Rick’s Cabaret case also rejected the employer’s argument that the performance fees paid to the dancers by customers could be used to meet the employer’s wage requirements because the employer did not make the performance fees part of its gross receipts, and distribute from its gross receipts some of those performance fees back to the exotic dancers. Thus, the court held that the performance fees were tips in which the gentlemen’s club was not allowed share, and were not service fees. The court’s conclusion in the Rick’s Cabaret case that the exotic dancers were covered by the wage laws was in line with many other courts. It also followed an $8,000,000 class action settlement between New York City’s Penthouse Executive Club and its adult dancers.

If you believe your employer has been illegally treating you as an independent contractor, has been stealing some of your tips, or violating the overtime and unpaid wage laws in Florida, call our unpaid wage attorney at Bober & Bober, P.A. at 800-995-9243 for a fee consultation.

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Study Finds Growing Wage Theft Problem in Florida

Samara Bober — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:27:58 +0000

A study by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy, Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University entitled “Wage Theft: An Economic Drain on Florida” found wage theft to be a growing and widespread problem in Florida. The Study found that the tourism industry (which includes the accommodation and food service industries), the retail trade industry, and construction industry were particularly impacted by wage theft. In a double blow to employees, the Study found that the lowest wage earners were the most likely to be victims of wage theft, even though such low wage earners are the least able group of worker to be able to afford non-payment of earned wages. As the Study notes, wage theft takes many forms, including unpaid overtime, unpaid minimum wages, working through unpaid meal periods, mislabeling employees as independent contractors, requiring off-the-clock work, changing time cards or pay records, illegal pay deductions, and paying wages late or not at all. The Study points out that wage theft is bad not only for employees affected, but also for the business community because it allows unscrupulous employers to gain an unfair advantage by putting law abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage. The Study concludes that much more can be done to combat wage theft because Florida’s has no statewide mechanism, such as a Florida labor board, to enforce existing Florida’s wage laws. Such enforcement of the wage laws is largely left to attorneys who represent employees whose wage rights have been violated, and/or the U.S. Department of Labor if the wage violation is within the scope of federal law. If your employer is violating your wage rights, or you have questions about the pay practices where you work, call Bober & Bober, P.A. at 1-800-995-9243 for a free consultation.

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independent contractors Archives - Bober & Bober

Exotic Dancers Win Minimum Wage Lawsuit

Study Finds Growing Wage Theft Problem in Florida