Omaha has a strip club proprietor named Shane Harrington. He owns a club called Club Omaha. Shane and his club have been in the news for fighting on behalf of freedom of expression in the state of Nebraska. I really admire that aspect of the industry, as I am a big supporter of the ACLU.

What I don’t admire about Shane Harrington’s clubs is that he is misclassifying his dancers as independent contractors when they are actually employees. In fact, several have contacted me, asking for help. These poor dancers are misinformed about the fact that they are employees, and believe their contracts signed away all of their rights. Even as I gave them instructions on how to hold Shane accountable, they continue to send me stupid emails, both countering what I am helping them with, while continuing to ask for help. I am going to say a few things once for everybody to understand. If you cannot understand this stuff, I feel really sorry for you:

— You are an EMPLOYEE at Shane’s club even if he calls you something else.

— A misclassification lawsuit would most likely be successful. Even arbitration agreements and clauses meant to deter class actions can be fought and beat.

— The EEOC is an ok resource of sexual harassment claims for EMPLOYEES.

— The NLRB is a great resource for wrongful termination claims for EMPLOYEES.

— Finding a qualified private attorney working on contingency would be great for a class action or other claims, including sexual harassment. Maybe start with Kathleen Neary and see what she has to say.

— Just because a contract says something does not mean the contract is valid. Most strip club contracts are paper tigers.

There you have it, everybody. I have been told that Shane Harrington makes it mandatory for dancers to participate in an online discussion forum. That strikes me as incredibly stupid on his part, making him incredibly vulnerable in several ways. But, I don’t know the details and only receive weird emails from people who don’t know how to use google to find out resources and basic labor rights.

I never worked at any of Shane’s clubs while I was in Nebraska. He definitely looks like a douche though. I hope he gets sued.