<i.I do know that such workers were not considered employees by the establishments where they worked. In particular, they were not paid even minimum wage. They were not paid at all. They had to pay something like $75/night for the privilege of working there. So no W-2. No 1099. Nothing. Their income depended on their tips. They were required to have a license that cost $100/year. This legally allowed her to work in any number of establishments, which was important because they were never allowed to work full time.

I was with you until the last sentence. Wouldn't not allowing them to work full time make them employers? I guess they could word the contract so that the only time there was space available was for less than full time.

But the first employer seized the license and kept the licenses in his safe to safeguard them. So the girls had to get multiple licenses.

Huh? I would go to the licensing dept (state?) and tell them my license was seized. Couldn't they just use a copy?

Jean