Miami ‘midnight ballerina’ pays $250 to dance at club. Then she sees how much of her earnings they took—and issues a warning: ‘These women are scared’

An exotic dancer based in Florida says a Miami club she worked at not only charged women to work there for a shot at earning tips, but also took a large portion of their earnings. Meli (@melifineasss) published a clip calling out Klub 24, stating that she initially delayed posting because she feared she wouldn't be allowed to work at the establishment once she did.

In a caption for her post, she airs her primary grievance with the business: "I can't come back to work unless I pay $500 after I paid $250 to work ... the club refuses to take that L and is deeming us dancers responsible."

Furthermore, her narration in the clip delineates her ire with Klub 24 further.

Meli claims that by law, since she's a 1099 employee, she isn't required to pay anything past the $250 fee to take to the stage. However, she says that at the end of the night when her dance shift is done, club management reaches into her tips and then takes some of her money.

According to her, it's happened a grand total of seven separate times. "Why are y'all taking $1,000 out of the ... pile when I paid $250 to ... work," she exclaims in her video. Additionally, she didn't find it fair that the nightclub was extending freebies to house guests but taking money from the club's dancers. I.e., the dancers are financing a good time for guests instead of keeping the gratuities thrown their way.

"Why are y'all giving people free bottles ... free this, free that ... but then y'all are sitting here and taking that money that y'all are supposed to sit here and take that motherf***ing L for," she says to the camera.

"Y'all are f***ing taking it out of the dancer's bag like that's not illegal," Meli added.

The exotic dancer remarked that other businesses have come under fire for also taking tips away from those working the pole. Moreover, she says she and other dancers at the club were being held financially liable for fronting the cost of bottles doled out to clientele.

"That ain't got nothing to do with us," she adds, before calling the practice, "modern day pimping." The dancer also included a screenshot of her conversation with another dancer decrying the club's practices.

What's more, is that she says other exotic dancers are timid about speaking out against the practice, as they believe they'll be taken off shifts and not given the chance to earn gratuities from club guests. "If they speak up on it, they get fired," Meli states.

She repeats that she will more than likely lose her job once Klub 24 management discovers she's been criticizing their alleged employee policies on social media.

Overall, the United States Department of Labor states in its Tip Regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) documentation, that employers are not allowed to take employee gratuities for themselves.

It states: "FLSA ... prohibit[s] employers from keeping tips received by their employees, regardless of whether the employers take a tip credit under."

On page 8 of the same ruling it repeats this edict unequivocally: "Under ... the FLSA ... an employer may not keep tips received by its employees for any purposes, including allowing managers or supervisors to keep any portion of employees' tips."

The legal firm Coffield Law also discussed particulars with regards to minimum wage laws. Specifically, the attorneys discussed employers necessitating that employees shell out money for the opportunity to work, such as purchasing their own equipment.

Or, in Meli and other exotic dancers' situations, stage rental fees that give them the opportunity to earn money from an establishment's clientele. "Employer-imposed charges, fees to work, or requirements that employees pay ... may result in a violation of the FLSA when the kick-backs cut into the minimum wages or overtime wages required under the FLSA, when the charges are for the employer's benefit."

The last portion of the quote is important. If what Meli says is true, then the establishment is giving away bottle service to workers without her permission or the permission of the other dancers. Giving away these free bottles to customers may entice them to spend more money to tip dancers.

This act should, under FLSA law, benefit dancers. However, Meli is saying that the club is technically selling these comped bottles, as they're helping themselves to the tips her and other dancers receive.

Meli would then, hypothetically, have to argue that she never agreed to such a payout structure.

Also, legally speaking, these comped bottles are being distributed to customer for an employer's benefit. Subsequently, they are then taking gratuity funds from dancers (if what Meli is saying is true) as a result of benefiting act of comping bottles.

Throngs of folks who replied to Meli's video urged her and other Klub 24 dancers to put together a class action lawsuit against the establishment. Some also highlighted that her case was nearly identical to the legal grievances filed by exotic dancer Courtney Hale (stage name Gorgeous Doll) against Magic City, a popular Atlanta strip club.

Fox 5 Atlanta reported that her submission to the court indicates "she was regularly required to pay a portion of her earnings in kickbacks to the club's DJ, security, and a third-party promoter known by the name 'Baller.'"

While Hale's case hasn't culminated in a verdict or settlement, there have been instances where exotic dancers have sued businesses for this practice and won.

Pike & Lustig wrote about a Florida group of exotic dancers who were awarded almost $900,000 in lost wages after they were labeled as independent contractors and not employees. Due to this misnomer, the dancers weren't allowed to receive overtime pay and wage coverage for their dancing shifts.

Other law firms, such as Sosa-Morris Neuman, have also discussed this employee classification distinction. And in 2015, some 4,700 exotic dancers employed at several various strip clubs were beneficiaries of a multi-million dollar class action settlement.