Exotic Dancers Push for Employee Status

The strip club industry has long relied on independent contractors to fill its stages and private rooms. Now hundreds of lawsuits—one every four days so far this year—are reeling in what some dancers say is an exploitative industry. The litigation barrage may be a warning for other industries with independent contractors.

Misclassification Suits: A Bloomberg Law analysis found 406 lawsuits filed since 2005 by dancers alleging the clubs misclassified them as contractors. More than half of the cases that have been closed ended in a settlement.

Dancers Get Support: Three federal appeals courts, however, have sided with dancers. A burgeoning ...