Class Action Claims Gentlemen’s Clubs Paid Employees No Wages

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

Five gentlemen’s clubs and four individuals who operate them are on the receiving end of a proposed class and collective action filed by a former dancer. The plaintiff claims the defendants pay their employees no wages at all. The clubs – which the suit says do business as Scores Columbus, Scores Houston, Scores Northwest Indiana, Gold Club Chicago, and Polekatz Chicago – require that their dancers pay a fee for each shift they work and adhere to a set of “specific rules” governing their attire, the services they offer, the prices they charge, and many other aspects of their jobs.

The plaintiff says she was paid only in tips received from club patrons and was required to surrender a portion of each night’s tips to the defendants and certain non-tipped employees, an alleged violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The suit argues that the plaintiff and similarly situated workers should have been classified as employees rather than independent contractors and are owed minimum and overtime wages.