Exotic dancer Louise Barr has one message for the strip club which employs her: she has working rights, too.
And to prove the point, she's filed a class action lawsuit against the club, demanding minimum wage, overtime pay, and a clothing budget, according to the San Francisco Examiner. If a judge approves the action as a class action suit, Barr will also represent all exotic dancers in the area.
One of her attorneys, Mark Ozzello, has filed eight other lawsuits against California strip clubs. Barr claims Centerfolds in North Beach is breaking California law by classifying her as an independent contractor and charging her rent for the time she spends dancing onstage.
Legal experts say independent contractor deals are arranged similarly to contracts with hair stylists or swap meet vendors, where the workers pay for their working space. The state Labor Commission office in San Francisco says that they have filed about twenty claims from exotic dancers since 1995, taking several cases to court to force the clubs to give dancers their money. All those claims involved individual dancers.
"(This) is about the worst violator we've ever seen" for abusing the independent contractor laws, says Labor Commission chief Miles Locker. "(U)nfortunately, the adult entertainment industry has to be dragged kicking and screaming to comply with the labor codes."
State law allows only a few situations where an exotic dancer may be called an independent contractor legally, Locker says, as when an X-rated film star makes a guest appearance at a club. Club regulars, he says, must be paid at least minimum wage.
The suit is seeking unspecified damages as well. A Centerfolds manager declined comment when the Examiner reached him.
Barr's suit is a first of its kind for San Francisco, but local dancers have complained about conditions for a very long time. And many say the public has a misconception about exactly how much - or how little - money exotic dancers actually earn.
On the other hand, San Francisco is still the only California city to host a dancer's union, created in 1996, with the Lusty Lady club the only San Francisco strip club to go union, paying its dancers about $10-11 per hour plus tips.
Barr's attorneys have also sued in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino counties, the Examiner says. The Los Angeles suit was filed in 1998 and the attorneys are still waiting for a judge to rule it a class action. The San Francisco suit could take years to settle. And the attorneys say the public pays when exotic dancers work without benefits.
Not to mention that Barr's career as an exotic dancer, in San Francisco at least, may be over now that she has sued. Former dancer Johanna Breyer, who also worked in San Francisco, tells the Examiner she was "basically blacklisted" after she filed complaints. She says the only ultimate way the dancers will make any wide progress is labor organization.
