Ohio Gentlemen’s Clubs Accused of Colluding to Decrease Dancers’ Wages

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

Twenty-five companies that operate gentlemen’s clubs across Ohio have been accused in a proposed class and collective action of colluding to deny their workers proper wages as a means of suppressing competition. As part of what the lawsuit calls a “nationwide industry conspiracy,” the defendants supposedly agreed together to pay their dancers no wages at all while demanding “various collusive, artificial, and illegal fees” from workers in exchange for “the privilege of working at their club.” This pay structure, known as the “Tenant System,” resulted in workers being paid less than minimum wage and not receiving proper time-and-a-half overtime wages despite working more than 40 hours per week, the lawsuit attests.

According to the three Jane Doe plaintiffs, dancers were improperly classified as independent contractors when they should have been treated as employees and paid wages in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The case argues that since the defendants maintained control over many aspects of the plaintiffs’ jobs – including pricing, dress code, marketing, and equipment – the women didn’t qualify as contractors under the FLSA and were therefore entitled to the law’s wage protections. Further, the complaint alleges that dancers were not only unlawfully charged fees if they were late or missed work, but were not permitted to retain all their tips, which the suit says were their only form of compensation. Instead, the defendants allegedly “took a cut” of dancers’ tips each night and demanded they surrender some of the money to other employees, such as bartenders, servers, and bouncers.

The case claims the named gentlemen’s clubs are members of defendant BACE Ohio (The Buckeye Association of Club Executives, Inc.) and colluded together during trade meetings to implement their allegedly unlawful pay structure, thereby suppressing competition between them. From the complaint:

“But for Defendants’ anticompetitive activity, Dancers would be paid at least the minimum required wages by law. These agreements create a logical decrease in competition, as only a limited number of individuals would be willing to undertake such oppressive pay schemes. Moreover, competition would clearly grow if wages were competitive and no agreement existed to artificially depress wages.”

The following are named as defendants in the 56-page suit:

• VM3015, Inc. (doing business as The Doll House of Columbus);
• House of Babes;
• LL Entertainment, LLC (doing business as Private Dancer Club);
• X Gentlemen’s Club;
• Cheeks Gentlemen’s Club;
• Club Rog;
• NL Corp., Inc. (doing business as Diamonds Cabaret);
• Scarlett’s Cabaret Toledo;
• PSG Foods, LLC (doing business as Platinum Showgirls);
• HSG Foods, LLC (doing business as Hush Showgirls);
• Top Hat Gentleman’s Club;
• Country Time;
• Sharkey’s Lounge;
• Pinups and Pints;
• Pazzazz Show Club;
• Showtime Gentlemen’s Club;
• New York-New York Cabaret;
• The Living Room;
• Bottoms Up Lounge;
• Jen’s Den;
• Crazy Horse Men’s Club;
• Crazy Horse;
• Secrets Gentlemen’s Club;
• Amber’s Cabaret; and
• The Buckeye Association of Club Executives, Inc. (doing business as BACE Ohio)