Anchorage strippers sue for back pay

ANCHORAGE (UPI) -- Three Alaskan strippers are suing their employers for back pay, claiming the club owners are not following state laws.

Shanna Thornton and two other dancers are suing the Anchorage strip clubs Fantasies on 5th Avenue and Crazy Horse. They say they are owed back pay related to minimum wage, overtime and fees they had to pay the clubs, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

The two clubs deny the allegations.

The newspaper said a two-week paycheck dated from June shows Thornton worked 23 hours, but after deductions earned $7.41 at the club.

"I'm sorry, I'm not in this business for any other purpose than to make money," Thornton told the newspaper. "And, I'm not going to go dance and perform for McDonald's wages."

Thornton says she was forced to tip the bartenders, bouncers and other club employees from her earnings. The head of Alaska's division of labor standards and safety says it is against state law to require workers to tip their colleagues, the newspaper said.