Burlesque Law News, Part II: Are Strippers Employees or Independent Contractors?

Our Burlesque Law News Series continues today with a story in the Daily Caller by a pseudonymous Massachusetts ecdysiast who does a great job of livening up Massachusetts employment law by explaining how a recent court decision is shaking up the state’s strip club industry.

In Part I of “Stripped by Massachusetts,” the author discusses how a wage and hour class action suit in Massachusetts, alleging that some strip clubs in the state improperly classified strippers as independent contractors rather than employees, will likely lead other clubs to force strippers to become employees in order to minimize damages from any future lawsuits. She also quite capably explains the legal standard in Massachusetts for determining whether one is an employee or an independent contractor.

In Part II of “Stripped by Massachusetts,” the author expresses her chagrin with what she sees as the likely outcome of the suit, stating, “[m]y independence has been sacrificed for a $2.63 per hour wage, some workman’s comp and Social Security that I likely will never see.” She also sends out a proxy to gauge other strippers’ reactions. According to her admittedly unscientific poll, “16 of 22 dancers hate the new system,” because it leads to lower overall profit, greater oversight by club owners, and fewer tax deductions.

Read Part I of our Burlesque Law News series here.

Photo from “Wheels of Burlesque” by http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/ / CC BY-SA 2.0