Life and Island Times April 26 2016

While Marlow and W were wandering the northern Georgia coast, things on their coral island were heating up on the front page of the papers.

For the second time during the past year, exotic dancers also known as strippers had filed suit in federal court claiming job misclassification (striptease artist?) and underpayment of wages due.  The first suit against a men’s entertainment club, Bare Assets on Truman Avenue, was filed by the same attorneys who filed against this most recent suit.

In the current suit filed last December, two former dancers at the Red Garter Saloon on Duval Street sued the business and owner Mark Rossi, a just retired City Commission member, over unpaid wages.   Micheal D, who now lives in Palm Beach County, and Rebecca Wiles (no, Marlow is not making this up), of an unknown address, allege that Red Garter Saloon, Rossi, and his company, Keys Productions, Inc., violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying them an hourly wage or overtime.

The women assert their only form of compensation was tips and that the business “failed to pay the plaintiff any wages whatsoever, throughout their employment.”  Their Miami lawyer wrote in the complaint that the business has a “longstanding policy of misclassifying their employees as independent contractors.”  He alleges in the complaint such a classification is illegal.

The lawsuit is very similar to multiple other law suits that have been filed nationwide by exotic dancers alleging wage theft via the independent contractor classification – a common theme in these litigation’s.

The women further allege in their long complaint that the business also violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by its alleged practice of “siphoning away those tips to distribute to non-tip eligible employees,” which the lawsuit lists as the disc jockeys, wait staff and security guards.   Dancers had to pay “house fees” depending on the day and shift the dancer was working.

Both women sought all unpaid wages for that time, including all “misappropriated tips” and house fees as well as attorney fees.

In Thursday’s edition of the local paper announced that Rossi through his attorneys that he had agreed to pay up to $1.2 million to settle this class-action lawsuit.  The settlement, filed April 8, awaits a federal judge’s approval but was signed by Rossi on March 31.  The proposed payout covers an estimated 122 dancers.  Payments could range from $150 for an artist who worked there for one month up to $9,450 to one who worked there for a little over five years.

The 60-page agreement also requests $295,900 in attorney fees for the plaintiffs.

Marlow’s takeaways: 

• Lawyers are always paid best and first.
• It’s about time that these artists are getting what they deserved.  They worked hard for money.
• Rossi, a former neighbor of Marlow and W, decided to sit this dance out.
• All islanders, regardless of their birthplace, are settlers.

Copyright © 2016 From My Isle Seat