A former employee of a North Hills strip club reached a tentative settlement in her lawsuit in which she disputed the establishment’s alleged tip-sharing policy.
Imani Singleton, identified in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit as a former”entertainer” at Synn Gentlemen’s Club, brought her case under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act. The act authorizes allegedly aggrieved employees to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees and the state for purported Labor Code violations.
On Tuesday, Singleton’s attorneys filed court papers with Judge Steve Cochran notifying him of a “conditional” settlement in the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Nov. 16. No terms were divulged.
In their previous court papers, Synn attorneys denied Singleton’s allegations and contended she lacked standing to bring the suit on behalf of other allegedly aggrieved employees.
Singleton’s suit sought civil penalties, including the value of allegedly stolen tips, as well as attorneys’ fees.
“This matter arises out of defendants’ illegal scheme requiring dancers at their exotic club to share tips with management,” the suit stated.
Singleton worked at the Sepulveda Boulevard establishment from July 2022 to January 2023, according to the suit, which further stated that during her employment, management intentionally took tips from the plaintiff and other employees.
The club “instituted a scheduling system which punished employees who paid no tips or less in tips to management than other employees, allowing management to “perceivably retaliate against any employees who refused to participate in the management tipping scheme,” according to the suit.
The club required Singleton and other employees to “tip out” management-level personnel at the end of every night they worked and they would be placed on less desirable shifts if they refused to do so or shared less of their tips, the suit alleged.