New York Strippers Win $10 Million In Back Wages

A federal judge on Friday, November
14 ruled that the strippers be paid
more than $10 million in back
wages and tips.
A slew of strippers in New York are in jubilant
mood right now after hitting a jackpot of $10m.
The strippers who worked for Rick's Cabaret
in Manhattan between 2005 and 2012 sued to be
paid at least a minimum wage. A federal judge
on Friday, November 14, ruled that the strippers
be paid more than $10 million in back wages and
tips.
The club's owner, Houston-based RCI
Hospitality Holdings Inc ., has however
said it plans to appeal and continue "vigorously
defending the allegations."
The dancers got no steady wages, instead paying a
fee to the club to perform there and in return
getting paid by customers. The customers put up
$20 for each personal dance and fees starting at
$100 for 15 minutes of entertainment in semi-
private rooms.
“But after paying club fees and required tips to
deejays and other club workers, the dancers
sometimes ended up in the red,” the strip
dancers’ lawyer, E. Michelle Drake, told
the court.
The club argued the dancers were independent
contractors. Club lawyers also said any wages
due to the strippers should be offset by the money
they made from customers, called performance
fees.
U.S District Judge Paul Engelmayer
however disagreed; and after ruling last year that
the dancers were entitled to minimum wage, he
found out on Friday that they were entitled to
$10.8 million on certain claims.