Gentlemen’s Club Peaches of Atlanta Hit with Employee Misclassification Case

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Clean City, Ltd, which operates the Peaches of Atlanta gentlemen’s club, and its president/manager are facing a proposed collective action in which the plaintiff claims current and former dancers were improperly classified as independent contractors, and thus not paid proper wages. The plaintiff, who the case says has worked as a dancer at the club on a regular basis since June 2014, argues that the defendants’ alleged “longstanding policy” of classifying dancers as independent contractors violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and exists solely for Peaches of Atlanta to avoid its obligation to pay minimum and overtime wages. The plaintiff notes in the complaint that Peaches of Atlanta’s dancers are compensated only through customer tips—portions of which need to be tipped out each night to the DJ, “house mom” and club owners, the case says.

Describing the relationship between members of the proposed collective and Peaches of Atlanta, the lawsuit claims the defendants are employers under the FLSA because they:

• Have the sole right to hire and fire the dancers;
• Require dancers to complete job applications prior to employment;
• Track the time and days dancers work;
• Discipline dancers by way of monetary fines;
• Control dancers’ appearance, e.g., attire and makeup; and
• Control the details of dancers’ jobs, including setting prices for customers and limitations on how customers can interact with dancers.