I tried to go into work last night but ended up leaving in tears. The management was different from the previous night & their policies were different, too. Since I'm *brand new* to dancing & the only two nights I've worked I've made no more than $30 profit after tip-outs (and the club has been "slow"), the house mom & V.I.P. podium dude waived my house fee (which would have been $60, meaning that by the end of working a 6-hour shift, not only would I have made no money, I would have paid $30 out of my pocket to the house. Essentially I'd be paying them for the privilege of dancing at their club while not even earning any money.). Both nights I worked were slow, and even the dancers who'd been there awhile were complaining that no one was spending.
But I wanted to stick it out & keep trying. Last night there was a different house mom & podium man. They demanded that I pay the house fee of $60 before checking in to begin work. I told them that yesterday the other mom told me that if a dancer does not earn a certain amount of money that the management can waive the house fee. They said that was up to the particular management team working at the time, and that even then management only does that for a dancer who'd only worked once or twice. More or less they were saying that I was on my own.
I told them that I completely understood having to pay house rent & that I appreciated the comfort & security that the house provided. However, I said, since I hadn't even earned $60 total profit during any of my shifts at their club, I did not feel comfortable paying the house fee. I mentioned that in my contract it stipulated that I should approach the management with a formal complaint should I at any point make less money working for them than the going minimum-wage rate. My first night I worked 6 hours and earned (after tip-outs) a total of $18. My second night I worked 6 hours and earned $30. Both of these earning values reflect a wage significantly below the going-rate.
They said that I did not have the same rights as a minimum-wage employee because I was a contractor. They told me that I must pay the house fee, regardless of whether or not I earned enough money in the house to make it back. I asked them if they were familiar with fair labor laws & they told me to get out. I asked them for a copy of my contract, and they said 'So sorry, but it's terminated now. We don't know where it is. It doesn't exist." At which point I complimented them on their moral business dealings and told them they'd be hearing from me.
Advice, please?



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Ditto!


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