LOS ANGELES — 2019 XBIZ Awards host and Crossover Star of the Year Stormy Daniels advocates on behalf of strippers in an L.A. Times op-ed titled "Stormy Daniels: Strippers need to be treated as freelancers, not employees," published today.
Spurred by the recent Dynamex decision, in which the California Supreme Court ruled "that in order to be an independent contractor, a worker must perform 'work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business,'" Daniels pointed out that "the work strippers do is clearly not outside the usual course of a strip club’s business."
She noted, "I work as a spokeswoman for Deja Vu, a company that owns a number of clubs in California, and they, too, are concerned. At least one judge has already issued a ruling that dancers must be classified as employees."
And while she supports "strong workplace protections and good benefits" for strippers, she says that forcing them all to become employees is not the answer. Privacy concerns are an issue, for while Daniels is public about her adult work now (and is arguably the most famous adult star of all time), she recalls, "I had no interest in filling out forms that would give the club — and potentially government authorities — detailed personal information about myself," in her early days as a dancer.
"There have undoubtedly been cases in which companies of all types have abused independent contractors," she believes. "But not all independent contractors are exploited and not all wish to be employees. We need legislation that will allow workers to continue working as independent contractors if they choose."
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
