Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Strip club wants court to reconsider ruling on dancers

CARSON CITY — The Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club is asking the Nevada Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling that dancers are club employees, not independent contractors, and therefore due minimum wage.

If the ruling stands, it could cost the club millions of dollars in back wages.

In asking the court to reconsider, Tami Cowden, an attorney for the Las Vegas club, said the “decision involves issues of great importance to Nevada businesses that operate through the use of independent contractors.”

Chief Justice Mark Gibbons set a deadline of Dec. 1 for Cowden to submit additional arguments as to why there should be a rehearing.

Sapphire, billed as the “World’s Largest Strip Club,” maintained it merely provided a venue for the dancers — independent contractors — to perform. Some of the dancers earned up to $100,000 a year.

The court noted, however, that Sapphire dictated things such as the dancers’ appearance, their interaction with customers and work schedules, though they were allowed to work at other places. Dancers also paid fees to the club and the disc jockey.

Sapphire made investments in maintaining the club, advertising and other expenses, the court said. But the dancers were “far more closely akin to wage earners toiling for a living than to independent entrepreneurs seeking a return on their risky capital investments,” the court ruled.

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