In the latest one, a former exotic dancer claims Southern Xposure violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state Wage Payment and Collection Act.
Morgan Powell filed her complaint Dec. 16 in Mercer Circuit Court. The named defendants are BCC Café Inc., BMC Café Inc., BRC Café Inc., MMC Café Inc. and PMC Café Inc., all doing business as Southern Xposure. Owner Mahesh Patel also is listed as a defendant.
Morgan Powell says she worked as a dancer at the Princeton and Bluefield locations from May 2009 to July 2016 under the stage name of Mary Jane.
She says she worked four to six shifts per week and was required to work Friday and Saturday from 7 or 8 p.m. until 3 or 4 a.m. She says the defendants didn’t keep complete and accurate records of time worked and did not pay her for the work duties she performed.
“Defendants implemented and utilized a system under which plaintiff was required and compelled to pay to defendants, out of her personal tips, $35.00 for each shift worked by plaintiff,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff was on several occasions fined … up to $1,000.00 for alleged violations of policies of defendants, including talking with a customer at a location away from the property.”
Powell also claims the defendants set the order in which dancers were required to perform on stage, required her to be dancing on stage if she was not performing a private dance, controlled the music to which she performed, controlled her performance, set and controlled prices she could charge for private dances and lap dances, collected all payments for private dances and champagne dances, required her to become fully nude when dancing on stage even if there were no customers in the club and exercised control over her in the work place.
Because of the defendants’ actions, Powell claims she was not paid at an hourly rate at least equal to the minimum wage set by the Fair Labor Standards Act. She says she and other potential members of the class action were improperly classified as independent contractors, and she says the number of potential members of the class action exceeds 40.
Powell seeks joint and several compensatory damages against the defendants for money unpaid to bring her and other potential class members to minimum FLSA wage standards and for unpaid wages under the Wage Payment and Collection Act. She also seeks court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
She is being represented by attorney Garry G. Geffert of Martinsburg and Gregg G. Greenberg of Zipin, Amster & Greenberg LLC in Silver Spring, Md. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge William J. Sadler.
Earlier this month, those attorneys filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of three female bartenders against Southern Xposure in Mercer Circuit Court.
Nicole Selby, Michelle Lawson and Jessica Brady claim the defendants agreed to pay them at a rate of about $8 per hour plus tips from customers. But, they claim the defendants did not pay their wages for all hours worked each week. They say they typically were shorted two to five hours of work each week. It also says the defendants withheld tips from the plaintiffs. They say this is a violation of the WPCA.
And both cases are similar to class action filed Nov. 17 by a Raleigh County man who claims Patel and the chain of clubs also violated state wage laws.
Billy Grossi says he was hired by the defendants on an hourly basis, but he says “he was not paid for any of his time worked, and not paid overtime.”
Mercer Circuit Court case number: 16-C-404