Posted on 12/15/2011 9:39:40 PM PST by Army Air Corps
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A Dallas based adult entertainment business with a club right here in Lubbock is getting sued by some current and former dancers.
The dancers say they're hired as independent contractors rather than employees paid by the hour.
Documents from the federal lawsuit show 8 dancers suing Jaguars. According to the lawsuit they worked in Lubbock, Abilene, Odessa, Dallas, and Fort Worth. We've been unable to determine how many dancers worked at the Lubbock location or if they're still employed.
Texas Tech labor law professor Jarod Gonzalez explains the difference between an employee and an independent contractor.
"If they're a true employee they get the benefits and protections of the statute, if not and they are just an independent contractor then the law doesn't provide that protection," he said.
It's no secret that exotic dancers can make quite a bit of money in tips, but if they're not employees they don't make an hourly wage.
"For employees that typically make their wages on tips, there's a provision in Fair Standards and Labor Act that would allow companies, particularly restaurants, to pay a lower hourly wage. Typically $2.13 an hour," Gonzalez said.
According to the lawsuit, dancers at Jaguars say they don't get paid by the hour. They also say if they work over 40 hours a week they don't get paid overtime.
In a response to the complaint, lawyers for Jaguars argue that performers make far in excess of minimum wage.
Gonzales says independent contractors typically work their own hours and provide their own equipment for whatever job they're doing. He says employees follow a shift and use tools provided by the company.
"From the perspective of the individuals claiming employment status is they would want to argue that the company is telling us what times we have to work and basically telling us how to do this particular job that would be more likely for an argument for employee status," Gonzalez said.
In the lawsuit, the dancers say the clubs schedule them to work in shifts and apply a fine if they fail to show up. Performers say they also have to pay a house fee to work.
This year a federal judge ruled in favor of dancers in a similar lawsuit. The judge said the dancers should have been paid wages because their tips didn't cover enough to meet the minimum wage threshold.
That case was near Washington D.C.
We've also learned there are several other lawsuits similar to this one in other states.
We asked the manager of the Lubbock club how their operations work, but he referred us to his corporate office for comment. We haven't heard back from their office.
I attended grad school with a guy who frequented such establishments and he informed me that this is a fairly common practice.
I’d love to sit in on the depositions of the dancers.
Good one!
Ping.
Hey, I went to school with that same guy!
In the Portland, Oregon area hiring dancers as independent contractors is very much the norm.
They are assigned shifts, pay a house fee, and depending on the establishment, may have to pay a fine if they fail to show up for their assigned shift.
Last I heard, Portland has the most nudie bars per capita in the USA, though I would imagine the economic downturn might have thinned the herd a bit.
Dancers working as independent contractors is common here too.
At my favorite watering hole some are paid by the hour, others are IC. Initially a dancer is on the payroll, if she shows she can’t be depended on to show up for work sober and on time she becomes an IC. If she continues to not care about her job she’s fired.
I’ll try to stay abreast of this situation.
Well, it remains one of his hobbies now that he teaches at a university; however he frequents such establishments outside of the city in which he lives (some of his students work in the local “Gentlemen’s Clubs”).
Well, there are some who want to nip the practice in the bud. The key for a leagl victory is for the lawyer not to make a boob of himself.
LOL! That could make for some interesting moments.
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