Strip Club Strips Employees of Wages

Tiffany’s Cabaret, a San Antonio strip club, was recently sued by two former employees. The two dancers claim that they did not receive minimum wage while working at the club and that they were never allowed to keep all of their tips. Instead, dancers were required to pay the club a “service charge” that covered the cost of the DJ and manager.

After two hours of deliberation on March 10th, a jury found that Tiffany’s Cabaret did indeed violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. The dancers, Alexis Alex and Nicolette Prieto were awarded a total of $250,000.

This is not the end of the cabaret’s woes. A separate class action lawsuit, filed by more dancers of the club, is currently pending.

What do you think about employers charging their employees a service charge? What do you think about employers taking their employees’ tips?