Ex-dancer: Club owes wages to performers

A former dancer at a McKees Rocks strip club is seeking a class action lawsuit against the business and its owners, alleging that she and others are owed wages because they were improperly classified as independent contractors instead of employees.

Sonya Jackson filed paperwork Thursday in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania seeking the class action suit against Club Erotica, owner Vincenzo Isoldi, general manager Franco Isoldi, and president and treasurer James W. Shepard.

Ms. Jackson said she worked at the club on Island Avenue at various times from May 2016 until she was fired in August 2018.

Club Erotica classified Ms. Jackson and other dancers as independent contractors even though the club held “near total control over them,” the lawsuit said.

Because of the dancers’ independent contractor designation, Club Erotica did not pay them a mandated minimum wage, required them to share a percentage of their tips, and forced them to reimburse the club for business expenses, according to the lawsuit.

Club Erotica had policies and procedures that the dancers had to follow, including checking in with the DJ when they arrived and waiting until management gave them permission to leave, the lawsuit said.

The dancers also had to pay Club Erotica in order to work there, as well as other fees, and were pressured into tipping the DJs so that they got better music during their performances, according to the lawsuit.

All of the fees meant that dancers sometimes took a loss on the night. Dancers who had outstanding fees or fines were not permitted to perform and faced termination, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks reimbursement of unpaid wages for the class, which Ms. Jackson believes would include more than 100 members.

A man who answered the phone Thursday night at Club Erotica but declined to identify himself said he was unaware of the lawsuit and therefore could not comment.