And then they made us all employees...
We were called in a for a mandatory staff meeting at my club yesterday afternoon. We were subjected to the typical condescending talk about how hard it is to work with women and all of our problems, and then the club owner said that he's making all of us employees instead of independent contractors. Along with this comes a lot of new tax bureaucracy, and revenue sharing (which is basically how he's getting legally around still charging a house fee and fining us without calling it that), and a new scary finger scanning system for coming on and off shift and stage sets. I already pay taxes on all of my dancer income, so I won't have to pay the additional self-employment tax anymore, which is a bonus. We're no longer technically paying house fees, but they're instituting funny money that we'll have to pay transaction fees on that must be used on all lap dances, but not on VIP rooms. We also have to turn in three $25 funny money tickets at the end of the night, so yeah, still definitely paying a house fee.
I'm wondering if anyone else has any experience with this? It seems somewhat unprecedented to me, but maybe the IRS and Department of Labor are finally starting to catch up with the strip club industry. Initially I'm somewhat excited about this, since I used to be classified as an employee at The Lusty Lady in Seattle, but I'm worried this might just open up new opportunities for the owner to put the financial squeeze on dancers. Of course it also comes with the right to unionize, but that seems like such an incredible undertaking, especially with a new system like this. I asked if that meant we'd be receiving the state minimum wage in addition to our other income and they said "we'll see how it goes..."
I've searched online for other clubs that have done this and haven't really come up with anything yet. I'm wondering if it's worth sticking it out, or if I should just cut and run now before it all blows to hell. It's a nice club, and the money making potential isn't as good as other places I've danced but it's really consistent.
Thoughts?
Re: And then they made us all employees...
Clearly the club is instituting the changes to cover its own ass at apparently no benefit to you. You are becoming an employee with none of the benefits that employees receive: base pay, benefits, costumes provided, etc., and you still have to pay them! What a deal!
If you are reluctant to leave, see how it goes and if it negatively impacts your bottom line or you feel screwed then leave. I personally wouldn't stick around unless the $ made it worth the bullshit.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
Hell to the fuck no. I am not in this business to have a boss telling me what to do. I would find a new club ASAP.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
i don't understand..you are an employee yet you don't get paid? how is that even..?? isn't the definition of employee, that you get paid by your employer??
Re: And then they made us all employees...
You need to LEAVE this club ASAP. Not only are they trying to control you, but installing a finger-scanning system is like letting "big brother" 1984 surveillance society into the strip club! Who knows what they'll do next: install NSA cameras in the place so the agents can jack off watching us dance for free?!
Strippers/ exotic dancers are INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS. That is what gives us our freedom. We do not take orders from a boss. We are our own bosses. We don't need strip club pimps aka managers to jerk us around, tell us what to do against our will/ comfort zone, and then STEAL more money from us. The house fee is enough as it is.
And another thing: They said it is hard to work with women and "all of our problems"?! What the flying horse fuck does that mean? We are too hard to control? Too emotional? Sorry, men, but we control this industry. We don't need pimps or we'd be walking the street.
I say we form a stripperweb union and start petitions.
There has to be another club you can work at. What about the one that you said had more money-making potential? Go back there and get your power back, girl!
*hugs*
Re: And then they made us all employees...
Unfortunately, with the 'wave' of recent DOL rulings and Corporate Strip Club lawsuits, there is an increasing body of legal precedent that 'strippers' qualify as ( statutory ) employees. Geographically speaking, the highest provile Corporate Strip Club lawsuits have involved Northeast US states. So it's not all that surprising that certain clubowners may be leaning towards simply 'declaring' their dancers to be employees instead of waiting for a Judge to rule that they are employees.
In regard to the legal requirements, it's clear that the clubowner mandate for dancers to turn in a minimum of $75 worth of funny money every night satisfies the minimum wage requirement. These will be paid out to dancers at the end of the pay period via a club 'paycheck' that allows the club to prove to the gov't that all dancers earned more than minimum wage.
Yes, one aspect of being an employee dancer is that the club will now have to pick up 6.7% of your social security tax while you'll still pay another 6.7% yourself ( which is an improvement over the independent contractor dancer having to pay the entire 15.3% )
Things to beware of ...
- by the club NOT wanting to know anything about employee dancer cash earnings in VIP, this places the employee dancer between a rock and a hard place. Legally, this income must be reported through the club's payroll system. But if the club refuses to deal with these cash earnings ( because higher dancer earnings also means higher SSI, disability, unemployment etc. premium costs for the club ), it is ultimately the dancer's fault if these earnings aren't reported to the IRS by one means or another. And as an employee, the dancer can no longer legally report these earnings as 'business' income. So for all practical purposes, these earnings cannot be reported without drawing IRS attention to the club, to the dancer, or both. And if not reported, these earnings don't officially exist for 'income verification' purposes. Of course, if the IRS or state tax agency happens to figure out that dancer X is spending a total number of dollars on rent, car payments, tuition, etc. than were reported on her tax return, the dancer and not the club will bear the consequences.
- if the club allows a dancer to work more than 28 hours per week, under the ACA the club will face fines if it fails to provide health insurance for 'full time employee' dancers. Thus one possible result will be the future inability of dancers to schedule themselves for more than 28 hours per week. The 'flip side' will be that clubowners will discover these ACA penalty costs ( and other full time employee benefit costs like unemployment and disability insurance premiums ), and will try to cut the total number of full time employee dancers by forcing the remaining employee dancers to work 40+ hours every week. Obviously, strict shift scheduling must be introduced in either case.
IMHO the other posters have the right idea. It's better to 'get the hell out of Dodge' at the beginning, rather than waiting until the point where all of the club's dancers decide that being an employee is a bad idea ( thus all trying to get hired at a different club at the same time you are ).
Re: And then they made us all employees...
it sucks that your club has changed for the worse but those types of rules and fees (including the finger scanner) are pretty common at other clubs. it sounds like now you just work at a regular strip club but get some employee benefits.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
^^^ the question will be 'what benefits' ?
In exchange for the employer club paying 6.3% SSI tax, the employee dancer loses most 'business expense' tax deductions. 'Employee business expense' tax deductions can ONLY be claimed if the employee taxpayer itemizes their deductions ... which for a single dancer that does not own her own home is a 'money loser' versus claiming the standard deduction. As an independent contractor, the dancer can claim all business expense tax deductions on her Schedule C ( which employees cannot file ). See
If the club limits maximum weekly working hours for dancers to 28 hours or less, the club will have no obligation to provide unemployment benefits, disability benefits, health insurance benefits etc. This will also potentially reduce dancer incomes due to the reduced working hours ... as well as potentially creating major scheduling issues as various dancers compete to schedule the 'busiest' nights of the week within their 28 hour limit. Fairness considerations may lead to one group of dancers being required to work 9 hours per night on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while another group of dancers is required to work 9 hours per night on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. In a 28 hour max scenario, there is no way that dancers are going to be allowed to work both Friday and Saturday night, because the club would never be able to retain other dancers who only worked weeknights.
If the club does 'go the whole route' toward providing 'full time' employee benefits i.e. unemployment, disability, and health insurance, this will undoubtedly carry an obligation that every 'full time' employee dancer work 8 hours per night 5 nights per week between the hours of 7pm to 3am ( or whatever ). And to cover the club's new costs of unemployment, disability, and health insurance premiums, the club will also be forced to glom onto a larger share of customer VIP / private dance money.
Under the club's announced financial setup ( without VIP money or tip money being run through the club's 'employer' payroll system ), the 'full time' employee dancer W2 is going to show an annual income of $75 * 5 * 52 = $ 19,500 per year. That's pretty close to 'poverty' level, and will not be highly helpful for income verification purposes.
And, of course, your weekly paycheck is actually being paid for using 'your own' money i.e. the minimum of $75 worth of 'funny money' you are required to turn in every night, less the 20% or whatever 'processing fee' the club is allowed to charge.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
at our club we are all paid as employees. we still pay a house fee every tnight, but we make 2.30 an hour which pretty much covers all the taxes. we have to fill out forms each shift where the house mom puts the hours we have worked that day and then we put down how much we made. every two weeks we get our pachecks which for full time range from oweing tax mone-25$. its not to bad, i travle so i get 1099 and just straight independent contracter too, it makes it a little more hectic on tax time but I like that i dont have to think about taxes.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
^^^ just curious ... as an 'employee' dancer are you covered by unemployment, disability, health insurance etc. ?
I also agree that, to avoid total loss of deductions, it pays for 'employee' dancers to also continue to work as an independent contractor at other clubs.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
not health insurance, in wisconsin it is up to the employer to decide if they want to. tech yes we do for unemployment and disability, but no one actually files for that, like ever. I'm not sure what your area is like, but in milwaukee if you work for a club you can't work at any other club at the same time. You will be terminated from both and black listed.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Melonie
^^^ just curious ... as an 'employee' dancer are you covered by unemployment, disability, health insurance etc. ?
I also agree that, to avoid total loss of deductions, it pays for 'employee' dancers to also continue to work as an independent contractor at other clubs.
yes. all of those benefits.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
Run away from this club as fast as you can. Chances are that the dancers there will be hard pressed to earn minimum wage after all the pay outs. It sounds over complicated, which leaves lots of openings for management to skim money away from the dancers.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
Re: And then they made us all employees...
I foresee this being the future of stripping. The IRS is fucking a lot of stuff up. Even with camming, they now require every site to issue 1099s to girls in the US (which is good for me because I hate having to total up everything I made, myself).
Re: And then they made us all employees...
The obamacare ( no its NOT Affordable, so ACA is a LIE) only applies to employers with "x" number of "full time" employees.( I am unsure of the number, could be around 50? ) This Employee crap is ALL about the govt getting their nose into EVERY cent you make. Many clubs will throw a contract at you as a full time employee, and there goes your tax write off for the hundreds spent on outfits, etc. and the CLUB isnt going to buy you any. All this can do is raise entry fees and ATM fees, etc...Just so the owners can tell the bleepin IRS that we pay taxes...This will RAMP up the costs, and ramp DOWN the clubs business... 1099's are Pain, but keeps you an indie.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dancer_maria
The obamacare ( no its NOT Affordable, so ACA is a LIE) only applies to employers with "x" number of "full time" employees.( I am unsure of the number, could be around 50? ) This Employee crap is ALL about the govt getting their nose into EVERY cent you make. Many clubs will throw a contract at you as a full time employee, and there goes your tax write off for the hundreds spent on outfits, etc. and the CLUB isnt going to buy you any. All this can do is raise entry fees and ATM fees, etc...Just so the owners can tell the bleepin IRS that we pay taxes...This will RAMP up the costs, and ramp DOWN the clubs business... 1099's are Pain, but keeps you an indie.
I really feel like Obamacare was kind of a facade that the IRS/government enacted for the insurance companies to make more money (high deductibles unless you can already pay for insurance + MANDATORY purchasing from those who are healthy and CAN afford it but opt out?), and for cash-only businesses to get fucked over and require all employees to be on the books. Sexwork is a cash-only business.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
The obamacare bill HIRED 16,500 NEW IRS agents, to get TAX refund money BACK from those who are 18-45 basically...to help pay for FREE care for illegals, etc... makes NO sense.
Re: And then they made us all employees...
^^^ while this isn't the right venue to discuss the broader aspects of the ACA / Obamacare , in purely economic terms there's no escaping the ACA mandates which are directly related to dancers and camgirls.
- indeed the ACA authorized the IRS to hire thousands of new agents / auditors. While the exact number is still unknown, I have heard that the new hires have 'doubled' the total number of IRS agents / auditors
- The stated purpose of these new agents is to 'enforce' the tax provisions of the ACA. These include the ACA mandate that all 'businesses' must now issue 1099's to any person / business who received more than $600 in annual payments. These include the collection of a new 'penalty tax' that is owed by all Americans who do not have 'qualified' health insurance coverage, and the collection of similar new 'penalty tax' from employers who do not provide health insurance coverage for full time employees. And by extension, these must include increased attention to 'business' tax returns, to 'business' estimated tax payments, etc. Obviously, businesses that operate primarily in 'cash' offer the highest potential for increased tax collection.
- Indeed, with US federal deficits growing, and with many state and local gov'ts teetering toward bankruptcy, there is strong incentive for tax agencies at all levels to try and increase the actual amount of tax revenues they collect. And with state unemployment funds being 'empty', there is even stronger incentive for states to push for fewer independent 'businesses' and more 'employees' ... which increases tax revenue collection and state unemployment fund collections at the same time !
- There are so many nitpicky provisions of the ACA, and so many after-the-fact changes, that I'm not really sure of the answer regarding small sized 'employers' being exempt from ACA related 'penalty tax'. Initially there was a cutoff for businesses with less than 50 total employees. Since total 'employee' head count includes all businesses under common ownership, 'large' individual strip clubs, or more than one 'small' strip club being under common ownership, would both exceed the 50 employee threshold where new 'employer' penalties for failure to provide health insurance to full time 'employees' kick in. However, as stated earlier, such 'employers' can resort to the 29 hour per week 'part-time' angle to avoid both the insurance cost and the new IRS penalty cost, regardless of the total number of 'part time' employees.
However, the ACA / Obamacare is but one aspect of the overall effect of dancers becoming ( statutory ) employees. As stated earlier, 'employee' dancers essentially lose their ability to deduct the cost of costumes etc. due to the IRS requirement that 'employee business expenses' can only be claimed if ALL deductions are itemized. 'Employer' clubowners gain the clear right to set ironclad work schedules. 'Employer' clubowners also legally 'own' all of the private dance / VIP 'earnings' of the club's 'employee' dancers, and are thus free to decide to share 80-20, 50-50, or not share at all, with the 'employee' dancers !!!
On non-financial aspects, 'employee' dancers are assumed to gain 'employee' rights. One such right is 'seniority'. Thus if the club's business level slacks off, the clubowner will more or less be forced to continue to employ an aging, overweight, low private dance sales rate dancer ... while being 'forced' to lay off the most recently hired young, hot, high private dance sales rate dancer ... or the club will be exposing itself to a potential 'age discrimination' lawsuit. This risk can be avoided if the 'employer' club includes Bellagio / Disney World provisions into its employment contract ( i.e. requiring 'employees' to maintain the same appearance they had on the day they were hired ). However, those same Bellagio / Disney World provisions could very well subject 'employee' dancers to monthly 'weigh-ins' and 'measure-up's ... thus subjecting 'employee' dancers to the risk of being fired if they gain 10 pounds or put on a couple of inches in the 'wrong' places.
And those same Bellagio / Disney World employment contract provisions can actually allow the club to legally fire dancers based indirectly on their age ( well, assuming that the dancers don't invest in face lifts / breast lifts / butt lifts etc. ). Keep in mind that every full time 'employee' dancer on the payroll costs the clubowner ( about ) the same X dollars in 'employer' SSI tax, in unemployment and disability payments, in accounting and payroll processing costs ... thus 'employer' clubowners will have a strong financial incentive to only ( continue to ) employ dancers who are highly 'productive' in terms of private dance / VIP room sales.
For similar reasons, 'employer' clubowners are likely to avoid hiring married dancers and / or dancers with children. 'Employee' rights concerning maternity leave, statistical evidence of 'mothers' missing more scheduled work shifts, etc. suddenly become very important in a work environment involving a 'minimum' number of employee dancers working rigidly scheduled shifts. Also, the ACA mandates that 'employers' provide health insurance to the dependents of full time employees as well as for the employees themselves, which would potentially increase 'employer' clubowner health care premium costs even more. All of these provide a financial incentive for 'employer' clubowners to seriously consider these 'new' issues when hiring new dancers.
Ultimately, there's no such thing as a 'free lunch'. If club customers are spending the same number of total dollars, but if those dollars must now also be 'shared' with the state unemployment and disability insurance funds, with accountants and employee payroll services, etc., by definition this means fewer dollars left to be split between the clubowner and the dancers. And with the 'employer' clubowner being in complete legal control of all private dance / VIP 'earnings' of 'employee' dancers, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out who will ultimately bear the brunt of these new additional costs !!!