A strip club settlement of $5 million is reached in a class action lawsuit filed by exotic dancers against certain strip clubs located in San Francisco.
Actually, it was in August 2014, when SFBSC Management LLC faced an employment class action lawsuit. The company is managing of strip clubs based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The suit accused a group of strip clubs of violating Fair Labor Standards Act. In other words, exotic dancers stated that they were misclassified as independent as independent contractors.
According to the terms of the strip club settlement, the nightclubs made a decision of altering their business practices. That’s to say, they will give dancers the opportunity of deciding whether they want to become employees or independent professional entertainers. In addition to that, they will receive $15 per hour.
Moreover, dancers will benefit from getting 20% commissions in case of private dances, which are usually over $150. Furthermore, under the terms of the strip club settlement, dancers have a chance of choosing the clothing they like. However, the strip clubs don’t let them share tips.
Details concerning the strip club settlement
It was in March when the motion for preliminary approval of the strip club settlement was filed. In fact, the exotic dancers made changes in their complaint. The goal was mentioning nightclubs as defendants in two more lawsuits filed recently.
The objector is Poohrawn Mehraban, who studies at UC Berkeley. Mehraban used to work as a dancer for four years and she considers the deal quite disappointing. The reason is that it refers to about to $2 million to cover the hours that 4681 exotic dancers worked, while $1 million refers to the alternate dance payment compensation. Additionally, the strip clubs will give $1 million for paying the costs of the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
It was last week during the hearing when the objector requested the judge not to approve the strip club settlement of $5 million.
The plaintiffs’ attorney mentions that 82% of the exotic dancers refused to waive their Fair Labor Standards Act claims. He adds that they are going to pursue a different class action.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Workers can rely on the protection under certain federal laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), etc.
Let’s refer to FLSA. It is a federal law, which refers to wages and hours worked. These also include overtime hours and wages. According to the FLSA, certain employees may be exempted from overtime pay. In this case, they must comply with the requirements set by FLSA regarding exemption.
