This is the issue that Dawn Passar has brought before the San Francisco Labor Commission in a similar suit involving dancers at the Market Street Cinema. The Labor Commission has ruled that dancers at Market Street Cinema are employees, not contractors, a ruling that is being appealed in San Francisco Municipal Court by the owners of the theatre. When I asked Idell about the significance of the Labor Commission's ruling, he was evasive. According to Passar's Exotic Dancer's Alliance, workers are considered employees unless an employer can demonstrate that they are instead independent contractors. A company's success or continuation should not depend on the services of contractors.
Contractors set their own work hours.
Contractors should be able to perform their services without the hiring company's facilities. Contractors can't be fired so long as they produce a result which meets the contract specifications. Contractors usually have the right to hire others to do the actual work. Contractors usually do not have a continuing relationship with the hiring company. If contractors work on the premises of the hiring company, it is not under that company's direction or supervision.