Whenever you hear the words worker misclassification, what comes to mind? Microsoft, Fedex, Nationwide? These names are just a few that have made national headlines. Most people assume that worker misclassification takes place within big companies or specific industries. What people don’t realize is that worker misclassification can happen just about anywhere.
Imagine a room that is dimly lit. A handful of attractive women are parading around divulging Victoria’s secret. Just then, music starts playing over the loudspeaker and you hear a voice asking you to give a warm welcome to the stage for Candie. Out comes a female, twenty- something, spirited dancer who’s an independent contractor (record scratch). What????
Wait! What does an exotic dancer(aka stripper) and an independent contractor have in common? Believe it or not, they have lots in common since they are essentially one in the same. In what is turning into a developing trend across the U.S., strippers are filing lawsuits against the gentlemens’s club owners over how they are classified. In gentlemen’s clubs throughout the country, strippers are being paid as independent contractors.
With most clubs, the women are paid a small salary, if any. Most of their money is made from tips. In return, the women find it mandatory to tip out the club for letting them perform(the house’s cut) along with the DJ and sometimes even the bartender. How does that song go, “She works hard for the money”? I bet when that song was written, no one ever considered her an independent contractor.
OK, so I’ve frequented a gentlemen’s club or two in my time and during those visits, I always assumed they were employees. Let’s look at the details. First…the club controls the hours that they work. Second…they’re typically supervised by management and sometimes provided with instructions for performing work. Third…though most of these ladies do have some athleticism, coordination and dance experience, would you consider their profession a specialized expertise? Finally…the last time I checked strippers were integral to a gentlemen’s club core business. Without the ladies, I find it hard to believe that men are going to shell out $8 for a Miller Lite on a daily basis.
At the end of the day, the business of gentlemen’s club entertainment is no different than that of the courier or the construction industry. It still boils down to the owners of these companies cutting worker benefits and skipping out on paying employer taxes to make a few extra bucks. The only difference is that these workers are prettier. If the courts can’t see that these women are employees then maybe they’ve had a few too many of those $8 Miller Lites.

Ahh Labor Day! A day that’s often spent camping, frolicking in the water, bbq’ing, gathering with friends or all of the above. For most people, Labor Day is a day when performing labor takes a back seat to everything else. As I join the thousands of other Americans on this day, I can’t help but wonder if Peter J. McGuire would have considered a creating a Labor Day in this day and age. McGuire was a carpenter/labor union leader who proposed the Labor Day concept to New York’s Central Labor Union in early 1882. The union loved the idea so much that they named September 5th 1882, Labor Day and that’s how it was conceived.

Fast Forward to today and I’m not sure if someone like McGuire would have suggested the idea of having of a day off. If he was exposed to what the current workforce is facing, my bet is that he might have petitioned for a week off instead . Today’s workers are at the mercy of employers who stoop to new lows by trying to cut costs of bringing workers on board. Throw in today’s economy and employers are purposely misclassifying workers as exempt from overtime or independent contractors in an effort to save a few bucks. Few workers speak out for fear that they will be replaced by another worker who might be less likely to complain. So what’s in it for the worker? Absolutely nothing.

The thought of how times may have been simpler back then in creating a national holiday based on the American worker needing a breather is somewhat astonishing. If companies continue to short change workers, who’s to say labor day shouldn’t be honored on a monthly basis. After all, it’s a growing trend with no end in sight. Peter McGuire, where have you gone?