Abilene, Texas – from www.reporternews.com – At least three Taylor County women who have worked as exotic dancers are claiming Jaguars Gold Club violated federal labor standards by classifying the women as independent contractors.
Dancers rely on customer tips for their earnings and, according to court documents, pay the club a daily fee that typically ranges between $30 and $70 to dance for tips.
The lawsuit — similar to other claims filed by exotic dancers elsewhere — was filed on behalf of the women and other dancers. It seeks minimum wage for tipped employees as well as overtime pay for dancers at Jaguars Gold Clubs in several cities, including the club in Tye.
The suit, filed in October in U.S. District Court in Dallas, is against JGC Dallas LLC and Bryan Scott Foster, described as owner and manager of Jaguars Gold Clubs, which have locations in at least seven Texas cities as well as Phoenix.
In documents filed Monday, attorneys for the club operators state that the lawsuit has named the wrong parties, but go on to dispute the claims, criticizing the dancers’ attorneys for attempting to hop “on the bandwagon”
of similar classification lawsuits that seek to “exploit what has been a long and mutually beneficial, albeit ‘informal,’ relationship, wherein performers are given a generous opportunity to share in the prosperity generated by the popularity of ‘upscale gentleman’s clubs.’ ”
Attorneys representing the exotic dancers and Jaguars Gold Clubs did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Erica Jones, Crystal Winter, Selisha Brooks, Ashley Cowart, Claudia Rede, Brandy Richbourg, Krysta Lehman and LaSandra Turner all are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
A lengthy cover story published last week in the Dallas Observer — titled “The Labor of Lust” — featured comments about the lawsuit from those involved and others in the exotic dancing industry, noting that a similar case in a club in Maryland ended with a settlement to three exotic dancers who each received between $11,000 and $18,000, while other cases ended with settlements of less than $10,000.
Some dancers told the Observer they preferred being independent contractors, noting the potential for tax write-offs and the flexibility with scheduling (though a dancer’s claim in the Jaguars case states that work is mandatory on some days).
Galvin Kennedy, the attorney representing the exotic dancers in the case against Jaguars, told the Observer that the independent contractor system “is the way it’s done in almost every strip club across the country.”
But he added: “I think over the next five years, as a result of lawsuits like this, you’re going to see a big change. Otherwise I’ll keep suing.”
The suit includes a claim by Kennedy that the clubs recently have been discouraging women from joining in the lawsuit, a claim denied by attorneys for Jaguars Gold Club who state that documents recently shown to dancers seek to explain employee status.
One local dancer who declined to give her name said she is opposed to the aims of the lawsuit and prefers to work as an independent contractor.
“We’ve had our company man going around all over the country, going to different strip clubs. We’ve all signed petitions against this,” said the woman, who gave her age as 22 and said she’s been an exotic dancer for about a year.
As an independent contractor, “my possibilities are endless,” she said, though she declined to state her earnings except to say “I support myself better than any other 22-year-old my age right now.”
She added: “I’m an entertainer. That’s my club. People come to see me. I don’t think I should be put on the same line as an employee.”