A Denver exotic dancer is taking her former employers to court for predatory and illegal fees and fines.
Georgina Santich, an exotic dancer, has filed lawsuit in the US District Court in Denver over what she calls predatory fees charged by her former employers. Because nearly 500 dancers nationwide could be affected by the company's fee structure, Santich is asking a judge to grant her case class action status. She is suing VCG Holding Corp, which owns multiple strip clubs nationwide in the Denver area: La Boheme, The Penthouse Club, PT’s All Nude, the Diamond Cabaret & Steakhouse, and the main target of the suit: PT’s Showclub. In the industry, it is not uncommon for exotic dancers to pay the club for the privilege to work each night. Usually, the dancers are officially classified as "independent contractors" so that the clubs can avoid the fees and taxes associated with full-time employees. However, in recent years, this practice has come under scrutiny because strip clubs have been caught treating their contractors as employees. Santich argues that the fees and fines enacted by VCG properties went far beyond what is acceptable for independent contractors. For example, under Federal law, a business cannot compel an independent contractor to keep specific hours. However, strip clubs often penalize dancers for missing time slots on stage. This fine and the enforcement of an employment schedule could technically classify the dancers as employees.
Santich also argues that PT’s Showclub and its parent company illegally forced independent contractors to share their tips with non-tipped employees, like bouncers. While it remains perfectly legal to charge dancers who want to use the company’s facilities, the filing argues that the club crossed the line by forcing independent contractors to directly tip-out non-tipped employees.
These fees and fines can add up quickly. PT’s Showclub charged their dancers "house fees," ranging from $30-$60 each night - higher fees were applied to primetime slots. Dancers had to pay the club 20 percent from all table dances and a $150 fee was applied to every hour of VIP dances.
If a stripper missed her scheduled time slot on the main stage, she was fined $50. They were forced to pay the Disc Jockey $5 per song, $5 to park in the parking lot, and the only hydration made available to them was $6 bottled water. On top of that, the dancers allegedly also absorbed 50 percent of the club’s advertising and promotional costs.
These fees and fines could easily add up to hundreds of dollars every night. It was not uncommon for Georgina Santich and others to work 12-hour shifts only to take home less than minimum wage.
Civil Rights attorney Mari Newman – who is representing Ms. Santich – issued a statement alongside the filing,
This case highlights the exploitation of one of the most vulnerable groups of employees, young women working as dancers in adult entertainment establishments. This is a predatory business that preys on young women who it hopes will be powerless to speak up because of society’s stigmatization of the work they are doing.”Newman continued, explaining that VCG "reaped the benefits of the substantial profits from door charges and drink sales without paying plaintiff and class members a wage." The suit argues that because PT’s Showroom treated their exotic dancers as employees, they are entitled to back pay, overtime, fees, and other withheld benefits. The suit also alleges that the fee structure enacted at VCG Holding Corp's clubs violates the Federal Fair Standards Labor Act, the Colorado Labor Code and the Colorado Minimum Wage Act by withholding tips from contractors. For example, Federal Law only allows "tip pooling" among employees who would normally receive tips from patrons.
Georgina Santich was fired from PT’s Showclub on February 13 for failing to meet the club’s physical appearance requirements. Those in the industry are already trying to paint the lawsuit as a disgruntled former employee trying to get back at her bosses.
VCG Holding Corp. was placed under a nationwide audit after labor violations surfaced in 2009. In 2014, VCG faced a nearly identical lawsuit from dancers at its club in Illinois. So far, neither PT’s Showclub nor VCG Holding Corp. has issued a response to Georgina Santich's lawsuit.
Last year, four strip clubs in Houston, Texas settled a similar independent contractor's lawsuit out-of-court for $1.1 million.
