Lawyers sue another Florida strip club over wages and overtime
Soon after getting a $1.2 million class-action settlement with a Key West, Florida, strip club for not paying wages to dancers it treated as employees, two lawyers filed another federal lawsuit with similar allegations against another club, the Miami Herald reports.
That brings the total to three such suits on behalf of dancers by Scott Atherton of West Palm Beach and Chad Even Levy of Fort Lauderdale. And their cases are part of a growing movement nationwide to pursue Fair Labor Standards Act cases against adult entertainment businesses, which the ABA Journal featured last summer.
The latest federal case in Key West is typical: The dancers received no compensation, only tips from club patrons. Further, they had to pay a “house fee” to strip there, as well as tip out the D.J., wait staff, security and managers, according to the lawsuit (PDF) against Teasers.
The clubs deem the dancers independent contractors but allegedly treat them like employees and pay them nothing.
Teasers required the “exotic entertainers and/or dancers” to work more than 40 hours a week while refusing to pay minimum wage or overtime, the complaint says.
In court filings, the defendant has denied any wrongdoing.
Last month, a club called the Red Garter Saloon agreed to a settlement in which it would set up a $1.2 million fund to cover claims by about 122 dancers who worked there between November 2010 and February 2016, with payments to range from $150 to $9,450, depending on how long they worked there.
