Judge in Wisconsin Rules 'Slow Striptease' Protected Under State Labor Law

WISCONSIN — A federal judge in Wisconsin has ruled that a state law protecting workers against fines for "defective or faulty workmanship" also applies to exotic dancers who don't abide by their employers' wishes to disrobe fast enough among other actions.

Dawn Stevens, a performer at the Oval Office Gentlemen's club sued her employer in court, stating that various fines levied by her employer were against state law.

According to court documents, performers could incur fines for:

• Getting to the stage late, starting a routine late
• Leaving the stage before the next dancer arrives
• Failing to spend time on the floor to sell additional services
• Failing to fully remove all clothing, except for underwear by the end of the first song while dancing on stage
• Spending too much time in the dressing room
• Not dressing according to the Oval Office's dress code

In his ruling, Judge William C. Griesbach of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin sided with Stevens, establishing that the fines levied by the Oval Office were not set up to recover a loss, but to deter violations of the employer's rules.

He went further, citing state law that prevented an employer from docking an employee's pay in circumstances that did not result in an actual business loss.

"It would be patently unreasonable for the legislature to prohibit employers from reducing an employee’s wages for faulty workmanship that did result in an actual loss, while allowing reductions for faulty workmanship that did not. Absent an actual loss, why should the employer be allowed to deduct anything," Griesbach wrote in his ruling.

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