Exotic Dancers’ Status as Employees of Club Affirmed on Appeal

A Cleveland-area strip club owes about $30,000 in back pay to two exotic dancers after the Sixth Circuit said Tuesday that ample evidence exists to find they were employees entitled to minimum and overtime wages.

The appeals court joined the Third, Fourth, and Fifth circuits and several district courts in concluding that exotic dancers were the employees of the clubs they worked in and not independent contractors.

Here, the dancers worked exclusively for the club, performing services that were integral to its business, and the club had “substantial control” over their work and opportunities to make profits, the U.S. Court ...