Nudity, yes. Chewing gum, no.
The owners of three Manhattan strip clubs were slapped with a class-action suit Tuesday by two former dancers who claim they were forced to follow a long list of rules in order to shed their clothes at the high-end skin palaces.
Melody Flynn, of Brooklyn, and Martina Antoinette de Truff, of Manhattan, say the management at the Flashdancers, Private Eyes and New York Dolls clubs made them maintain at least three sets of uniforms two gowns and one swimsuit for each shift worked. ”
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The work rules were included to bolster claims that father-and-son owners Barry Lipsitz and Barry Lipsitz Jr. illegally misclassified their dancers as independent contractors ” in order to deny them minimum wage and overtime payments.
The suit seeks unspecified damages on behalf of Flynn, de Truff and at least 100 other strippers who worked at the clubs since 2007.
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Justin Swartz said the suit is the first filed since Manhattan federal Judge Paul Engelmayer last week cited similar work rules as evidence that rival club Rick’s Cabaret misclassified its dancers as independent contractors.
We are trying to clean up this industry club by club, ” he said.
Last week’s decision was an important step in meeting that goal. ”
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