JOB CLASSIFICATION: Stripper lawsuit gets OK - News

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Feb. 01, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JOB CLASSIFICATION: Stripper lawsuit gets OK

Court says lawyer can pursue effort to force paying of wages

By ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

People pass the Girls of Glitter Gulch topless club Thursday on Fremont Street. The state Supreme Court said Thursday that a Tucson, Ariz., lawyer may pursue a class-action lawsuit that would force strip clubs to classify dancers as club employees and pay them wages.
Photo by Jeremy Lyverse/Review-Journal.

CARSON CITY -- The state Supreme Court handed a victory Thursday to an Arizona lawyer who wants Las Vegas strippers classified as club employees and paid wages by the owners of clubs where they work.

Many of the estimated 10,000 strippers in Las Vegas pay a fee to dance at clubs and sign agreements classifying themselves as independent contractors. They receive no pay or benefits and earn only tips.

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Justices ruled 3-0 that lawyer Mick Rusing can bring a class-action lawsuit on behalf of strippers seeking to change that arrangement.

"This is going to force employers to stop living off the backs of these women," said Sean Brearcliffe, a lawyer at Rusing's firm. "Some of the clubs don't pay them anything and force them to pay as much as $50 to $100 per hour out of their tips. Nevada law does not let employers take tips earned by their employees."

Brearcliffe, who worked with Rusing on the case, said that in coming months he plans to file a class-action lawsuit in District Court to force strip clubs to hire dancers as they do other employees.

If a class-action lawsuit succeeds, it will allow dancers to keep their tips and receive wages, Brearcliffe said. Clubs will have to raise revenue through higher entrance fees, drink prices and other means if his law firm persuades a judge to prohibit the independent contractor arrangement, he said.

Inside the Spearmint Rhino topless club in Las Vegas, some dancers said they do not support a move to become club employees. They prefer, the strippers said, to work as independent contractors.

One dancer, who said her name is Nicole, said she makes more money now than she ever would on an hourly wage.

Clad in a tight black T-shirt, black stockings and a mini-skirt that covered only the top of her backside, Nicole asked: "Why would I want to make six dollars an hour when I can make $500 an hour now?"

Another stripper, who declined to give her name, said dancers aren't the type of employee who works 9 to 5. She explained that half of the strippers working at the club are from out of town.

"Some of them don't work every day. It's not a regular job," she said.

Judges and labor commissioners in Texas and Florida have thrown out the independent contractor agreements dancers signed with strip clubs, Brearcliffe said. His firm won a favorable decision for strippers in California.

The firm has been trying since 2000 to secure approval to represent Las Vegas strippers in a class-action lawsuit.

Brearcliffe said strippers will be notified of the litigation and their right to participate if his law firm brings action against the clubs where they work. A dancer automatically will be considered part of the litigation unless she signs an agreement that she is "opting out" of the case, Brearcliffe said.

The firm would represent the strippers on a contingency-fee basis.

Many dancers have been reluctant to join the litigation out of fear of retaliation from club owners, he said.

In oral arguments before the Supreme Court in September, Girls of Glitter Gulch lawyer Mario Lovato argued that dancers prefer being independent contractors. He said they take home hundreds of dollars in tips a night and do not have to tell clubs what they are earning.

If clubs had to pay dancers wages and benefits, they would be required by law to keep track of their tips, he added.

His response prompted Justice Mark Gibbons to wonder aloud whether dancers preferred the current arrangement because they could avoid paying taxes on all of the tips they receive.

Brearcliffe said there is no evidence that strippers have not paid taxes.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Rusing, Brearcliffe's colleague, has found a client -- a legal secretary who moonlighted as a Girls of Glitter Gulch stripper -- who is an adequate representative of strippers as a class.

Any case brought on her and other strippers' behalf must be considered under the state's Nevada Wage and Hour Law, which prohibits employers from using tips as credit against the $5.85-per-hour minimum wage, according to the decision.

Glitter Gulch had argued such cases should be considered under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows employers to use tips as a credit against employee wages.

The decision overturns a ruling by then-District Judge Nancy Saitta, now a Supreme Court justice. She did not participate in the decision Thursday.

Saitta had thrown out the case on the grounds the "Jane Doe" whom Rusing sought to use as his client was not an adequate representative of strippers as a class. The woman worked as a secretary to the attorney son of former Supreme Court Justice Cliff Young.

During the hearing before the Supreme Court, Lovato said the secretary had signed a five-page agreement with Glitter Gulch that deemed her an independent contractor and not an employee. She also filed a federal income tax return in which she identified her stripping career as a business.

Lovato contended Rusing has been looking for five years for strippers willing to bring lawsuits against Glitter Gulch and other clubs but could not find any.

Brearcliffe said Thursday that they have not had trouble finding strippers willing to participate in litigation. But he acknowledged that in some instances, strippers moved away from Nevada and no longer wanted to be involved in litigation.

They have waited for a ruling from the Supreme Court allowing them to represent strippers as a class before filing additional lawsuits, he said. Otherwise they would have had to bring cases on behalf of individual strippers.

Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or (775) 687-3901. Review-Journal writer Antonio Planas contributed to this report.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. drama101 wrote on August 07, 2008 10:16 AM: Don't be fooled by the employees (club owners) hype. Dancers should be paid by the club hourly. They should receive the same benefits as any employee in any other field. By law the club or any employer cannot touch your tips or charge a house fee for you to work there. You should be paid a wage and keep all of your tips and not have to pay any fees to any employer it's the law. rich buonantony wrote on February 13, 2008 09:23 PM: dont the entertainers realize that the owners of the clubs will pay all the dancers an hourly wage and charge the customers for the dances. they would be thrilled to do this. the owner will make the money while the girl has to give the dances and she gets a wage. the owners profit will go through the roof. once again the lawyers screwed both sides so they can get PAID. hey lawyers leave the girls alone Damienne wrote on February 12, 2008 01:30 AM: Lorrainne, you're absolutely right in what you wrote. We become strippers because it is easy-in, easy-out, and nobody's the wiser. We love the freedom to come and go as we please, and the instant gratification of cash. If we wanted to punch a time-clock, we'd have chosen another job! Here is a great site for local adult industry workers: www.scapa-lv.org Samantha wrote on February 08, 2008 12:51 AM: I don't think those dancers realize that this lawsuit will only hurt them. If the strip clubs are going to have to pay all the dancers that work for them, I'm sure they will be very picky about who they hire. Especially at the average strip clubs since alot of the dancers from the top clubs will be seeking work at lower end strip clubs. Samantha- www.sincitystrippers.com Lorrainne wrote on February 03, 2008 08:35 AM: :) P.S.: Alot of girls live quite suburban middle class lives and do not want to be identified as an exotic entertainer to their friends, family, strangers, neighbors and kids. Most of the dancers I am friends with are strong, smart, educated, intelligent women who do pay their taxes and do not allow the clubs they work at to exploit them and that's why attorney's should not be allowed to exploit dancers either. Ok, I am done. Sorry if you disagree with me. Lorrainne wrote on February 03, 2008 08:20 AM: Sorry for the typos below. I forgot to say to all who do file taxes, as I do make sure you incorporate yourself so in either case you will only have to pay 1/2 of self employment taxes. This applies to both situations independent contractor or not. Go to www.irs.gov and file a s-corp on yourself as "your First and Last name Incorporated"- it's FREE. Also, make sure you always use an accountant to help you file your taxes. The one plus side I do have about recieving a paycheck and 1099 from the gentlemen's club in Chicago is that it always made it easier to file my taxes at the end of the year. Other than that the negative out weighs the positive on this issue. I know I have been entertaining for 11 years off and on. I do believe I can be considered an expert in this area. Lorrainne wrote on February 03, 2008 08:00 AM: :) Ok, here's the deal. I worked at a topless club in Chicago that currently has such a system in place. Let me show you how it works there: 1st You pay $100 "space rental fee" each day you work, 2nd you pay 20% of all your tips "and believe me they keep track down to the last cent", 3rd you pay 25% to turn in Dance Dollars "obtained when a customer uses his credit card to pay for dances and tipping", 4th you are required to work on a 4 day a week schedule in which you pick the days you wish to work and 5th finally you get a minimum wage check every two weeks. There is no insurance or any other benefits offered to dancers. Break it down it equates to you only taking home 51% of all money earned by you, the club and hosts / bouncers get 49%. Not to mention you get taxed on your W-2 and 1099 when you file your taxes. Just think of the control the club has as an employer, they will find a way to make there money from the dancers not from the customers. I went back and forth to Vegas for a year becuse of it and finally decided to move here. Now I have lived and danced here for 3 years, much more happy. I make the same; however, I take home more. As for girls who travel because of the economy I no longer think it worth traveling to Vegas. If I didn't move here I don't believe I would have continued to travel to Vegas for work anymore. It is saturated with girls and customers are spending less. I see lots of disappointment for out of town girls traveling here for work. :( Courtney R wrote on February 01, 2008 12:27 PM: This would be a horrible idea for both the club and the girls in las vegas. First this would shut down a lot of the older and smaller clubs that couldn't afford to keep a staff of girls. Second this would be horrible for the girls that travel into town and the ones that have other jobs. Most likely the clubs will require you to put in certain hours or come in certain days. As a stripper myself I like the fact that I am able to work when I want and not work when I don't want to... I really don't see how this could possibly benefit anyone involved. oldlawdawgb wrote on February 01, 2008 10:51 AM: Only in Las Vegas could strippers be such a sympathetic group that we cry foul on their behalf when lawyers try to file a class action that might affect their tips. I agree that these lawyers are not in any manner acting out of concern for strippers. In fact, I believe they are trying to put the squeeze on the club ownwers at the girls' expense. So what the hell -- if its all about money then I say leave the strippers alone as the money was given to them because of their "dancing" skills, and if they prefer it like it is then who else has the right to ,make it otherwise. The IRS could take action if it felt it to be necessary, but I bet most field agents come back from the "field" gfeeling "favorable" to the girls. BUT ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN: I NEED TO FIND A NEW SECRETARY! Tom, Burbank wrote on February 01, 2008 09:30 AM: " "This is going to force employers to stop living off the backs of these women," said Sean Brearcliffe, a lawyer at Rusing's firm." Aren't they really working off the, uh, fronts of these women? Read All Comments