Dancers Win Wage and Hour Lawsuit Settlement

A multi-million dollar settlement was reached after a group of exotic dancers in Florida filed a wage and hour class action lawsuit. The plaintiffs claimed that they were not paid the wages or the overtime that they were due according to federal overtime law.

Scarlett’s Cabaret, a dance club chain in Florida and Ohio, agreed to pay $6 million in the wage and hour class action settlement. That settlement will be given to roughly 4,700 current and former dancers who were allegedly mistreated according to federal overtime law standards.

The plaintiffs were allegedly misclassified as independent contractors which resulted in a lower pay and lack of full overtime payments. However, the plaintiffs claimed that they were full employees of Scarlett’s Cabaret and therefore entitled to full wage and hour payments.

This is one of many wage and hour lawsuits that have been filed against various employers who have allegedly fail to pay their employees according to the law.

Wage and Hour Violations

There are many ways an employer can violate a federal overtime law.

Some common violations include:

• Unpaid Overtime
• Unpaid Wages
• Off-the-Clock Work
• Employee Misclassification as Exempt
• Employee Misclassification as Independent Contractor (as with this wage and hour lawsuit)
• Missed Meals & Breaks
• Donning & Doffing
• Less than Minimum Wage
• Excessive Sidework
• Unpaid Internship

Overtime is any time worked over 40 hours in one work week. While there are exempt employees, commonly in managerial roles, many are employees that have been misclassified as exempt when in fact they are due overtime pay: 1.5 times the hourly rate. The rules of exempt employee include making over $23,600 a year and having “executive job duties.” This can include managing two or more employees. 

Meal and break times are another area where employees may not be getting what the law entitles them to. An employee is due extra wages if they have to work off the clock, this including during lunch breaks and even to responding to emails off the clock.

Plaintiffs can win millions in wage and hour lawsuit settlements. A wage and hour class action lawsuit investigation is currently underway. If you are a citizen of California, a California wage and hour class action lawsuit has been launched with rights pertaining to that particular state.

This Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is Adonay Encarnacion v. J.W. Lee Inc. et al., Case No. 0:14-cv-61927, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Join a Free Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

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