A Former exotic entertainer for a North Hills strip club reached a tentative $300,000 settlement for a lawsuit filed against the business centered on a dispute over tips.
Imani Singleton was the original plaintiff in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against her former employer, Synn Gentlemen’s Club. Singleton later ceased contact with her lawyer, so Lauren Yarish, another exotic dancer who worked for Synn from 2020-24, will substitute in as the plaintiff, according to court documents. On Wednesday, Yarish’s lawyer filed papers with Judge Steve Cochran seeking a hearing for his approval of the change, which is now scheduled Nov. 14.
The case stemmed from ”the ”defendants’ illegal scheme requiring dancers at their exotic club to share tips with management,” according to a complaint filed in July 2023. Yarish alleges that management level employees were illegally taking tip money from entertainers and not providing them with statements reflecting commissions received for private dances.
Club management denied Yarish’s allegations and argued that any tip sharing that occurred at their business was proper. The managers also maintained that employee pay stubs were accurate.
Singleton worked at the Sepulveda Boulevard establishment from July 2022 to January 2023. According to the suit, 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.”’
The plaintiff claimed the club required Singleton and other employees to “tip out” management-level personnel at the end of every night they worked. If they refused, they would be placed on less desirable shifts, the suit alleged.
Singleton brought her case forward under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act, which 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.