A Homewood strip club owes its dancers minimum wage and forced the entertainers to share their tips with workers who do not customarily receive gratuities in violation of federal labor laws, according to a lawsuit filed Sunday.

Kelley McDonald and Taylor Smith, two former dancers at Sammy’s at 342 Valley Ave., claimed the establishment mischaracterizes dancers as independent contractors when they are actually employees of the strip club.

The lawsuit also states McDonald and Smith are filing the action on behalf of all current and former dancers who worked at Sammy’s since April 2021.

“During their time being employed by defendants, plaintiffs were denied minimum wage payments and denied overtime as part of defendants’ scheme to classify plaintiffs and other dancers/entertainers as ‘independent contractors,’” the lawsuit filed in federal court in Birmingham claimed.

The dancers, whose sole income came from tips, were forced by Sammy’s to share the gratuities with other workers who are not normally tipped by the strip club’s customers, the lawsuit alleged.

“A required tip to the DJ each time plaintiff worked functioned as a subsidy to Defendants. Defendants had to pay the DJ, floor man and/or a house mom less because they were being tipped by the entertainers,” the suit claimed.

Dancers have to pay house fees that the lawsuit alleges are tantamount to illegal kickbacks.

“Defendants would also force plaintiff to pay kickbacks to the club just to work. These kickbacks were called ‘house fees.’ In order to further control plaintiffs, the club would increase the amount of kickbacks later into the evening,” the suit alleged.

Patricia Cantavespre, the owner of S.J.B. Corp., the company Sammy’s is registered under, could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

Efforts to reach Sammy Russo, identified in the lawsuit as the club’s general manager, were also unsuccessful.

Ten other unnamed Sammy’s employees are also listed as defendants.

The lawsuit seeks at least $100,000 in compensatory damages in addition to restitution, attorney’s fees, penalties and interest and other damages.

In 2023, a federal judge ruled former dancers at The Furnace were employees of the Birmingham strip club, not independent contractors.

The dancers in that lawsuit claimed at 309 28th St. North, violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including not paying them minimum wage or overtime.