TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that exotic strippers are legitimate employees and not just independent contractors where they work.
The case decided yesterday involves a dancer at Club Orleans in Topeka, Kan., who filed an unemployment claim in 2005.
After the filing, an auditor assigned to the investigation determined that the club's dancers were employees under the Kansas Employment Security Law because they had to follow a number of house rules.
But Club Orleans' parent company, Milano’s, said that the dancer was an independent contractor and that all dancers earn money through tips. The club maintained that it only offers “rental space” for them to perform.
The court said that "exotic dancers subject to a right of control by the owner of the club where they perform are employees under the ''usual common law rules' incorporated into ... the Kansas Employment Security Law."
With the ruling, the state Supreme Court decided that the club’s owners must contribute to the state unemployment-insurance fund.
Milano’s attorney told ABC News that his client does not plan to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. “This is the Kansas Supreme Court. This is where it ends,” he said.
