"Each time a dancer performs an exotic dance for a patron and receives a dance tip, the dancer is required to immediately account. The dancers can't be independent contractors under the law because the clubs "exercise control over all aspects of the working relationship," and dictate hours of operation, lengths of shifts, minimum tips for private dances, tip sharing, even dance themes and costumes, and exclusively handle advertising and promotion, the lawsuit alleges. "Defendants knew or should have known that the business model employed was unlawful as applicable laws confirm that all money given to dancers by patrons was defined as a gratuity and the sole property of the dancer," the suit alleges.ĭancers received no wages, but "generated their income solely through the tips received from patrons when they performed exotic table, chair, couch, lap and/or VIP room dances," the suit alleges. to share gratuities given to them by patrons with defendants and their employees, such as doormen and DJs." according to the lawsuit. The clubs unlawfully classified the dancers as independent contractors, rather than employees, failed to pay minimum wages, and "engaged in unlawful tip-sharing by requiring dancers. The suit alleges violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws.
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But the settlement provides wages and other benefits for dancers who become club employees, plus additional safeguards for those deemed independent contractors, he said. Young, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said that depends on the individual dancer. "For whatever reason, entertainers and exotic dancers don't want to be employees." This settlement does that, making the case unique, he said.Ĭontrary to what many people might think, "the clubs would like the entertainers to be employees" because "they could then control the entertainers and the clubs would make a lot more money," Shafer said. Having already gone through the 2008 lawsuit, which involved a monetary settlement, he said he was determined to resolve the current lawsuit in a way that would rule out another similar suit a few more years down the road. "It's not just strippers, but it's hairdressers, cab drivers, Uber drivers, home health care workers," Shafer said. The lawsuit's roots go back even earlier, to a similar lawsuit filed in 2008 and settled in 2011, but that had a settlement that did not include requirements that Déjà Vu determine, going forward, whether dancers were in fact club employees or independent contractors.īradley Shafer, the Lansing attorney representing Déjà Vu and Mohney, said there has been a raft of similar lawsuits in a wide range of industries. The case began in 2016, when a Bay City dancer filed suit against Déjà Vu clubs in Saginaw, but it was expanded this year to include Déjà Vu clubs and their affiliates nationwide. Until recently, Michigan law prohibited fully nude dancing at clubs where alcohol was served. "We've heard many stories about clubs taking advantage of dancers and exploiting them," Young said.īut in backing the settlement, Déjà Vu and Mohney deny the allegations in the suit and admit no wrongdoing.ĭéjà Vu, founded in Michigan but now a national firm with offices in Michigan, California and Nevada, has operated many of its clubs under a model in which the clubs serve no alcohol but dancers disrobe completely. Jesse Young, a Southfield attorney representing the plaintiffs, said many of the dancers may only receive a couple of hundred dollars, but the benefits of the settlement go far beyond the cash settlement and include future wages, unemployment insurance, and the right to unionize if they are deemed club employees. The proposed settlement covers more than 60 clubs around the country, of which 11 are in Michigan, including Déjà Vu Showgirls in Highland Park, Larry Flynt's Hustler in Lincoln Park, and Déjà Vu Showgirls in Lansing. “It was not easy to make money and there were nights that I walked out with less than what I came in with,” Sage said in a letter to the court. Minneapolis-area dancer Stephanie Sage said that with as many as 28,177 dancers sharing in the settlement, the offer is too small. District Judge Stephen Murphy as "reasonable, fair and adequate," ahead of a June 7 fairness hearing in Detroit.
So far, only one dancer has objected to the proposed settlement, which has received preliminary approval from U.S. Another $1 million will pay attorney fees and penalties. The dancers can also choose whether to share in a $1-million cash payment pool or instead share in a $4.5-million pool that will credit them for rent and dance fees paid to the clubs.
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