The list of metro Atlanta strip clubs being sued by dancers claiming they were denied fair wages continues to grow.
Last week, a lawsuit was filed in federal court against Club Wax and owner Thomas Waters.
The plaintiff, Santana Hayes, said the club violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act when management did not pay minimum and overtime wages to dancers, according to the lawsuit. More than 50 additional dancers at the Fulton County club can join the suit, according to complaint.
Like the others filed against strip clubs, the latest lawsuit claims that entertainers were considered “independent contractors” and paid in tips, despite being treated in many ways like employees.
“Indeed, not only did they fail to pay a single penny in wages, they tricked the plaintiff and all others similarly situated into paying … to work at Club Wax,” the lawsuit claims.
Neither Waters nor Club Wax management could be reached for comment.
Among other “tip-out” fees, the complaint claims that dancers were required to pay $45 per shift to the bar, the complaint said.
In the past four months, several adult entertainment clubs have come under legal fire for allegedly misclassifying dancers and withholding wages.
Last week, Tattletale Lounge was sued with allegations that “kick-backs” were demanded of the dancers.
Pin Ups in DeKalb County and Pleasers in southwest Atlanta were sued in October for similar allegations.
Earlier this month, a federal judge reviewing the Pin Ups complaint said the club owed its survival to its dancers and deemed the entertainers not "independent contractors," but employees.
The owners at The Onyx in northeast Atlanta settled a 2009 lawsuit for $1.55 million, paying each of 73 then-current and former dancers roughly $21,233, according to court records.
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