from www.washingtonpost.com – Claiming she should have been paid a regular wage along with tips, an exotic dancer at the Mile High Club in Prince George’s County has filed suit under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act,
Sabrina Tullos, who has appeared on HBO Real Sex and was Miss Black Nude in 2002, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, according to her lawyer Jimmy Bell.
Tullos, who began at the club in 2006 and still dances there, argues in the suit that she acts as an employee of the club, not as a contractor, and is entitled to paychecks. She and other dancers receive only tips, according to the lawsuit.
They are required to give the club a daily $15 “tip out” fee to work, half the earnings from each $20 lap dance, and a $10-a-day Disk Jockey fee.
“Imagine a bartender at the Gaylord having to pay the Gaylord just to come to work,” Bell said.
An employee at the Mile High, on Aaron Lane in Clinton, said a manager was not immediately available to comment.
Tullos is among the dancers who are making similar claims under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Last year a dancer sued The House club in the District in a case that is pending.
In the eight-page lawsuit, Tullos said she worked at the club about four nights each week and was required to abide by a dress code and appear on stage to dance. She was fined if she did not show up for work or called in sick, the lawsuit states. The club used Tellos’s image in advertising campaigns, according to the lawsuit.
Tellos has asked the court to award her $204,600, which includes her calculation of back wages and reimbursement of fees.