A Denver District Court ruled last week that strip club entertainers are employees and have protections under the City’s wage and employment laws.
The ruling upholds a hearing officer’s earlier determinations involving an investigation by the office of City Auditor Timothy O’Brien into multiple Denver strip clubs, according to a statement released by his office on Monday.
Attorneys for the strip clubs argue that the entertainers are exempt from certain city wage and employment laws and that the Auditor’s Office lacked the authority to investigate possible violations of entertainers’ rights.
“Our office enforces wage theft laws for all industries and protects anyone performing work in Denver,” O’Brien said. “Adult entertainment workers are no different, and we are pleased the courts agree.”
Denver Labor, a division of the Auditor’s Office, investigated PT’s Showclub Centerfold, PT’s Showclub, and Diamond Cabaret in 2023 and Rick’s Cabaret in 2024 for minimum wage and other labor law-related violations.
Both businesses also used questionable workplace practices in that they misclassified entertainers — strippers or dancers — as exempt from some worker laws, according to the audit. The misclassification meant the strip clubs were not paying entertainers appropriately for their work, and treating them as contractors, the audit said.
Labor investigators requested payroll and other records, including contracts and evidence of the fees the entertainers had to pay to work.
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