Torn off a strip
Male strippers don't qualify as 'creative professionals', says courtThere has been a bit of a kerfuffle over independent contractors Stateside in recent times. The whole “sharing economy” thing has seen massive growth with companies like Uber, Airbnb, and TaskRabbit attracting billions in venture capital.
Many of these companies have been raking in the cash by technically employing independent contractors rather than employees. Independent contractors work as and when on a freelance basis, and cost an employer far less in the USA as they are afforded less legal protection and are not due to have their Social Security or Medicare paid for.
Wikipedia gives two examples of independent contractors as: hitmen and professional wrestlers. Interesting.
The independent contractor model has shown signs that things might yet come crashing down around the ears of some of these companies. California last month ruled that Uber was acting illegally by treating one employee as an independent contractor.
This is being seen as a landmark ruling, opening the doors for many more independent contractors to sue their companies. At the moment it is seen rather like 21st century companies are taking advantage of outdated 20th century employment law, with this being one small step towards addressing that concern.
One group trying their hand has been male strippers. Sadly, this hasn’t been their magic (mike) moment. Courts in Georgia ruled that the strippers didn’t qualify as “creative professionals” who would be entitled to a minimum wage, citing the fact that many of them didn’t “actually know how to dance” or display a great deal of creativity in their line of work.
Tough critics. We wonder if district judge Thomas Thrash had to spend many painstaking hours judging their creative talents in person, or just took someone else’s word for it.
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