Merry Christmas?
On Christmas Eve, a U.S. district judge in Dallas left a little something extra under the tree for some 190 women who spent time dancing in an all-nude Northwest Dallas strip club: a signed settlement worth $2.3 million, minus a sizable chunk of attorneys’ fees.
The small pile of money is the result of a three-year legal battle over that age-old question: Are strippers full-time employees deserving of proper wages or just transient part-timers — independent contractors — dancing for tips?
Jaguars, like most strip clubs, disagreed, insisting they were no more than contract laborers. Said Jaguars’ attorneys, the dancers were “permitted to perform … under various forms of agreements with various entities. And, they claimed, “no performer was required, or did perform in excess of 40 hours per week.”
The strippers won’t get all the money though, 33% is going to their attorneys, but still something is better than nothing. In the end the 182 strippers will split $1.54 million ($8461 reach before taxes).