The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Frank Cerabino column
By Frank Cerabino, The Palm Beach Post, Fla. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"The public should care about how an employer takes advantage of people who are either ignorant of the law or don't have the wherewithal to challenge it," said
The dancer claimed that she should have been entitled to at least the minimum wage while working four days a week at the club during shifts that range from seven to eight hours long.
As independent contractors, dancers are compensated with "fee for service" from customers rather than wages from the club owners, who also aren't required to pay employment taxes, workers compensation, unemployment insurance or health insurance benefits for the dancers.
"Calway and the other dancers would often leave an eight-hour shift earning as low as
"We don't monitor how much money they make," Odle said. "But some of the women tell me they come out with
Odle said he finds it hard to believe that a former dancer is complaining about not getting paid minimum wage or that she contends to have made so little money.
"So she stuck with this job for six years and only made
The lawsuit spells out the control that the club has over the dancers, a control that argues against their independent status.
The lawsuit claims: Dancers are required to pay fees each shift to the house, the disc jockey and the bouncers. Dancers are required to wear high heels, are fined for showing up late or leaving early, and are not permitted meal breaks or time to sit. And their schedules and conduct are rigidly set by the club.
Odle disputes that.
"We have suggested shifts," he said. "They work when it's good for them."
And the rules are there for the women's safety, Odle said.
And recent court rulings have generally found that the dancers are really employees because of their lack of independence in the strip club work environment.
Last year, a federal court in
"Rules such as those setting the length of a dancer's dress, the height of her shoe, the meetings she was required to attend, the entrances she was allowed to enter, the amount of money she was required to tip out at the end of each night, or her use of chewing gum or stiletto heels, and many more, were neither mandated by state or federal law, nor justified on grounds of workplace safety," U.S. District Judge
Another federal court last year also sided with the dancers at
"Although different entertainers may possess varying degrees of skill, there is no indication that a high degree of skill or experience is necessary," wrote U.S. District Judge
If Calway is successful in court, the Federal Labor Standards Act would allow her to collect three years of back wages and open the door for other dancers at the club to do the same.
"It could end up being
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