RS&S INTERNATIONAL, LLC

Stephanie's Place CAN~DO UCAJ

http://www.causes.com/causes/557148-stop-sob-human-trafficking-modern-day-slavery/about

http://humantrafficking.change.org/petitions/view

“HANDS HOLDING STEPHANIE”

http://www.goiam.org/latest-videos/7766-a-grave-mistake

HELPING TO PROMOTE LOCAL,

STATE & FEDERAL PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH,

WELFARE AND WORKPLACE REFORM

Contact: Richard A. Sands, PD/PI

RS&S INTERNATIONAL, LLC

STEPHANIE'S PLACE

COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK

Downriver Office ~ UCAJ

For further contact information

Telephone Number: 734-771-7251 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            734-771-7251      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Email: rsnsinternational@sob-csc.org

JUN-25-08: J. Thompson & Associates and Sommers Schwartz Announce Class Action Lawsuit Filed On Behalf of Deja Vu Exotic Dancers

Deja Vu Exotic Dancers file class action claiming back wages

Exotic dancers working at Deja Vu nightclubs over the past three years have filed a class action lawsuit claiming back wages, liquidated damages, penalties and injunctive relief.

The dancers claim they were misclassified as independent contractors, as opposed to employees, and as a result, they were not paid minimum wages as required by FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) and the MWL (Michigan Minimum Wage Law). They were also not allowed to retain all the tips given to them, and were forced to split them with their employer.

If you have worked as an exotic dancer for Deja Vu nightclubs, please click the link below to send your complaint to a lawyer to evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.

Please click here for a free evaluation of your case

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/deja-vu

Rick’s Cabaret Strippers Can Proceed With Lawsuit, Judge Says

December 23, 2009, 06:15 PM EST

By Linda Sandler

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Strippers who worked at Rick’s Cabaret International Inc. in New York won permission from a U.S. judge to proceed with a lawsuit alleging the night club operator paid them less than minimum wages for taking off their clothes and charged them for using the facilities.

The strippers led by Sabrina Hart got conditional approval for a class action lawsuit, according to a Dec. 17 filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Rick’s Cabaret deemed them to be independent contractors to hold down their wages and made them understand they might be sacked if they didn’t pay fees and charges, according to a second amended complaint filed Nov. 24.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-23

The plaintiffs also claim that the club charges patrons $24 to buy a "dance dollar" for use inside, but the strippers only see $18 of that. The $5 million lawsuit accuses Rick's of threatening strippers with termination if they didn't pay illegal "house fees" in order to work. The main thrust of the suit is that Rick's misclassified dancers as independent contractors, when they were in fact underpaid employees relying almost solely on tips.

A nearly identical misclassification lawsuit filed by a single entertainer against Rick's settled for $36,000. If you are a woman who used to dance erotically at Rick's and would like a piece of the action, Drake encourages you to contact him by calling (612) 256-3200 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (612) 256-3200      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

http://gothamist.com/2009/12/24

Strippers win right to sue for damages from a Chelsea club

August 10, 2009 06:12 PM

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

About 70 strippers who worked at a Chelsea club can each seek thousands of dollars in damages in a class-action lawsuit because their employer misclassified them as ''independent contractors,'' depriving them of wages and tips.

The suit, which a lawyer for one of the strippers described as the first of its kind in Massachusetts, seeks to recover money they say they should have received at King Arthur's Lounge in Chelsea since 2004.

The club was the scene of a notorious shooting in January 2008 that left one man dead and two men wounded.

King Arthur's Lounge did not pay the strippers any salaries, required each to pony up a $35 fee to perform each night, and kept $10 of every $30 that each made for ''private dancing'' in video-monitored booths, according to a state judge who granted a stripper's motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news

Topless club hit with lawsuit over dancer wages

By Steve Green

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 (2:10 a.m.)

A topless nightclub in Las Vegas was hit with a class-action lawsuit Monday claiming its dancers aren't really independent contractors -- and instead are employees entitled to regular wages and overtime.

The suit against Sapphire Gentleman's Club follows a ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court last year allowing a similar class-action lawsuit against another topless club to proceed under state law claims.

Monday's suit was filed in Clark County District Court on behalf of dancer Zuri-Kinshasa Maria Terry by lawyers including Robert Starr of Woodland Hills, Calif., who has a Web site called exoticdancerrights.com.

Also involved in the suit is Tucson attorney Mick Rusing, who was involved in the case resulting in last year's Supreme Court decision. Local lawyers involved in Monday's case are Thomas Christensen and Ryan Anderson of the Christensen Law office.

If certified as a class-action, the lawsuit says it could represent some 5,000 Sapphire dancers, including current and future dancers as well as those who danced at the club full or part-time during the past two years.

Sapphire bills itself as the world's largest gentlemen's club with some 400 dancers nightly.

While independent contractor arrangements are the standard practice in the industry, the lawsuit claims Sapphire has so many rules governing the dancers' working conditions that they don't qualify as independent contractors.

Dancers, for instance, are required to work a minimum number of hours -- six or longer -- per shift, the suit claims. It says they are prohibited from leaving the premises during their shift, can't leave with customers, can't date or socialize with customers during their off hours and must entertain customers "according to means and methods prescribed by" management.

They must pay club managers and employees for the right to work at the club, charge minimum fixed fees for table and lap dances, promote sales of alcohol and other drinks, accept offers of drinks from customers, appear on stage to dance at fixed times, comply with a dress code and wear approved costumes and uniforms, the suit charges.

Failure to follow the rules will result in suspension or termination, the lawsuit charges.

"Such rules and regulations and control over the means and methods of dance and conditions of employment are not of the type imposed upon independent contractors," charges the suit, which seeks back pay for the affected dancers and an order requiring the club to comply with Nevada wage and overtime requirements.

http://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov

Strippers Sue to Be Classified as Employees, Not Independent Contractors

Tresa Baldas

06-09-2009

When it comes to wage-and-hour laws, strippers are no different from pizza delivery drivers or waitresses.

That's what plaintiffs attorney E. Michelle Drake of Minneapolis-based Nichols Kaster claims in a wage-and-hour class action recently filed against a strip club in suburban Minneapolis. The suit claims that the King of Diamonds club is violating state and federal wage-and-hour laws by intentionally misclassifying entertainers as independent contractors and requiring them to pay fees -- between $20 and $100 a night -- to come to work, much as a hair salon charges a stylist for a chair.

The key difference, Drake noted, is that the stylist is considered an employee and gets a wage, whereas the dancer is forced to work only for tips and "pay for the pole."

"This is a very cut and dry lawsuit. The job that my clients perform is unique and interesting -- and maybe titillating to the general public -- but the legal issues presented are very standard and weigh very strongly in my clients' favor," said Drake, who filed the case last week in federal court in Minneapolis. "Employees cannot be required to pay their employer to go to work under federal law ... and employees can't be forced to work for only tips anymore than a waitress can."

Drake said that case law supports her argument -- that adult entertainers are not independent contractors, but hourly employees, and should be treated as such.

In the 1990s, court and labor commission rulings in Alaska, California, Oregon and Texas all declared dancers to be employees. The most seminal case on the issue is Reich v. Priba, a 1995 federal case out of the Northern District of Texas, in which the court held that adult entertainers were misclassified as independent contractors.

Despite what the courts have held, though, Drake believes that the practice of misclassifying adult entertainers is still widespread in the world of exotic dancing, but the employees are too afraid to speak up.

By requiring the women to pay to come to work, and by refusing to pay them, managers "are taking advantage of the fact that women in this industry may be hesitant to assert their rights to wages," she said.

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticle

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR FILING

CLASS ACTION SUIT DEPRIVATION OF EQUAL PROTECTION & DUE PROCESS RIGHTS

Why there’s an LP agreement not to enforce the law…

…that’s never been adjudicated as being unconstitutional?  Hint!  It’s about Liability; however, who’s really behind trying to avoid damages?  Who do you think?  If we don’t help the dancers, who will; I for one am trying and I’ll bet the future may well include many more local families dealing with very sad events, nasty and/or even horrific secondary negative effects, like the demise of Stephanie Brown.

December 16, 2008

SANDS v ATLANTIS, Case No. 08-015086-CD

ANSWER TO COMPLAINT, AFFIRATIVE DEFENSES AND RELIANCE UPON JURY DEMAND: Paragraph 29.  Answering paragraph 29 of plaintiff’s complaint, defendants deny that they hire dancers as employees for the reason that all dancers are independent contractors and not employees.  (Emphasis added)

March 14, 2008

PAPALAS DRIVE v CITY OF LINCOLN PARK, Case No. 2:07-cv-15358

STIPULATION FOR ENTRY OF CONSENT JUDGMENT AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT: Paragraph 14(b).  Sections 808.04, 808.07, and 808.08 shall be construed so that they shall apply only to employees who provide any form of live entertainment upon the Hustler Property.  These Sections, even as construed, shall not apply, however, to independent contractors and/or non-employees who perform live exotic dances within the Hustler Club.  (Emphasis added)

November 6, 2006 (Res.06-389A)

CITY OF LINCOLN PARK, Ordinance Chapter 808 Adult Cabarets

808.07 Adult Cabaret Employee License Application (a)(2) This section shall also include the licensing of any independent contractor who performs professional services on the premises of any adult cabaret, including but limited to the following: A. Dancers; B. Entertainers; C. Host or hostess; D. Beverage service persons; E. Cashiers; F. Bouncers; G. Security guards; or H. Doorman. (3) This section shall be strictly construed to include all on-premise personnel, whether employee or independent contactor.  (Emphasis added)

This is a FOX 2 News report about Lincoln Park's fight against a Larry Flynt Hustler

News Report on Lincoln Park's Fight Against Hustler Club

Lincoln Park Mayor Frank Vaslo SUPPORTS Hustler Strip Club

Senator Basham Proposes Legislation to Crack Down on Illegal Activity at Adult Entertainment Establishments

Senator Basham recently introduced legislation to address the community’s concerns with the hiring process of adult entertainment establishments. A local family from Wyandotte alerted Basham to this problem as they prepared to file a lawsuit against an establishment for hiring their underage granddaughter, high school student Stephanie Brown.

Senate Bill 1612 would allow local municipalities to require employees of adult establishments to obtain a local work permit to ensure that they are of legal age to be employed there. The second bill, SB 1613, creates an adult entertainment facility tax of $3 per customer that would be deposited into the state domestic violence prevention and treatment fund.

In March 2007, Atlantis, a strip club in Lincoln Park, Michigan, employed Stephanie Brown although she was only 17 years old and did not carry an adult cabaret employee license, which is required by the Lincoln Park Code of Ordinances. On her second night working at Atlantis, who has a reputation for hiring minors and encouraging underage drinking, drug use, and prostitution, Brown died when club patrons provided her with a lethal dose of cocaine. Before this incident, Brown had no criminal record or history of using drugs and planned to attend college. Brown's family filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court against Atlantis today citing negligence and a sexually hostile work environment. For more information about the lawsuit, contact attorney Jennifer Salvatore at (734) 663-7550 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (734) 663-7550      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or jsalvatore@nachtlaw.com.

http://www.senate.michigan.gov/basham/enews.php

#1 Crime Study begins with:

 SANDS vs ALTANTIS LOUNGE

LINCOLN PARK, MI

Police arrest mother after she abandons her young daughter LINCOLN PARK — A woman is in police custody, expected to be charged today with child abandonment.  The mother, who is a part-time exotic dancer at the Atlantis Lounge, left her daughter over the weekend with an employee of a motel that is adjacent to the strip club, Police Chief Thomas Karnes said.

http://thenewsherald.com/articles/2005/08/31/localnews/20050831-archive3.txt

Police seek witnesses to accident that left man dead LINCOLN PARK — Police are now looking to speak with a man who might have played a part in another man's death early Monday outside of a topless club.  Stanley Lewandowski, 53, of Flat Rock died of head injuries at about 12:30 a.m. after being hit by a vehicle in front of the Atlantis Lounge, 863 Dix.

http://thenewsherald.com/articles/2007/04/08/localnews/20070408-archive3.txt

Lack of law enforcement enabled teen to strip tease LINCOLN PARK — Acknowledging that they have failed in enforcing a city ordinance in the past, the Police Department is now demanding that nude dancers be licensed.  The enforcement decision comes days after it was publicly revealed that an underage Wyandotte girl was allowed to dance nude in March at the Atlantis Lounge, 863 Dix-Toledo.

http://thenewsherald.com/articles/2007/05/27/localnews/20070527-archive.txt

Top Stories of 2007: Teen's drug death led to first-ever conviction Before March 16, Melisa Haines of Wyandotte was like most other mothers.  But then, a knock on her front door changed her life forever.  It was then that she learned that her 17-year-old daughter, Stephanie Michelle Brown, had sneaked out the night before to work a new job she had just taken as a nude dancer at the Atlantis Lounge strip club in Lincoln Park.  While there, the Roosevelt High School senior met Deleon Alexander II, a former Ecorse Community High School volunteer basketball coach who promised the teen that he could help her land a better-paying job.  After leaving with him and a friend, Brown and another nude dancer ended up less than a quarter mile away inside Room No. 9 of the Moon Light Motel in Melvindale.  A few hours later, Brown was found unresponsive on the motel room floor. Minutes later, she was pronounced dead of a drug overdose at Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center in Dearborn.  Prosecutors, determined to hold Alexander responsible for the teen's death, used a new law to convict the 28-year-old Lincoln Park man of delivery of a controlled substance causing death.  He was the first person to be convicted in Wayne County of the 2006 law that holds dealers responsible when their drugs kill someone.  In sentencing Alexander to 11 to 20 years in prison, Wayne County Circuit Judge Ulysses Boykin said this case "all too graphically illustrates the dangers of illegal drugs" and proves "what drugs have done to our society."

http://thenewsherald.com/articles/2008/01/06/localnews/20080106-archive3.txt

Bills would regulate adult entertainment LINCOLN PARK — A state lawmaker said Monday that he intends to introduce two pieces of legislation aimed at adult-based businesses.  If either bill ultimately becomes law, Basham said, he plans to name them after Stephanie Michelle Brown, a 17-year-old Wyandotte girl who worked as a nude dancer at a Lincoln Park club last year before dying of a drug overdose.  Melissa Haines, the mother of the deceased teenager, was at Monday's meeting when the bills were announced. She said she was touched to know that her daughter's name might one day be on a piece of legislation.  "There's no words to describe how that makes me feel," she said, fighting back tears. "Any laws that help keep children out of (adult clubs) and make it harder for the criminal acts to occur, I'm all for. We're fighting hard." 

http://thenewsherald.com/articles/2008/02/27/localnews/20080227-archive12.txt

LINCOLN PARK: Family of nude dancer sues strip club over her death DETROIT — The family of a teenager who died last year of a drug overdose shortly after she began working as a nude dancer is suing the Lincoln Park strip club that hired her and its owner.  Ann Arbor attorney Jennifer Salvatore filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court on behalf of 17-year-old Stephanie Michelle Brown of Wyandotte.  “She was given the drugs by patrons of the Atlantis Lounge, a Lincoln Park strip club where Stephanie was illegally hired to work as an exotic dancer,” Salvatore said in a press release.

http://thenewsherald.com/articles/2008/11/07/news/doc49148b025fb20475200765.txt

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