An exotic dance club in Albany Park will pay $200,000 and institute anti-harassment training to resolve a racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2024.
In its original lawsuit, the EEOC alleged the Admiral Theatre had failed to protect dancers from sexual harassment and “frequent unwelcome touching” from customers, discriminated against Black dancers by pushing them into less lucrative shifts and retaliated against a dancer who spoke up, among other allegations.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Albert Berry III approved a consent decree to settle the case, which the EEOC filed in federal court in Chicago, on May 28.
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In court filings, attorneys for the club had denied the allegations in the EEOC’s original complaint.
The consent decree requires the Admiral to pay a total of $200,000 to be shared among a group of dancers, according to the EEOC. The agreement also creates specific requirements for the club’s anti-harassment and discrimination policies and requires it to implement training for managers and security staff.
For instance, the club must create a policy of tossing out customers who violate its sexual harassment policies, according to the consent decree. It also must maintain a list of customers who are the subject of repeated complaints and put them on a “deny entry” list.
Attorneys for the Admiral did not respond to requests for comment this week. In an email, a club representative said the Admiral had changed ownership after the lawsuit was filed, that the former owners are not involved with the business and that current management “has no information or opinion on matters relating to prior ownership.”
DeCarri Robinson, a former dancer at the Admiral, said she was hopeful that the agreement would improve working conditions for current dancers.
“I don’t doubt that harassment will still continue,” said Robinson, 32. “I don’t doubt that racism will still continue. But I’m hopeful that there is now a system in place where people can be advocated for, advocate for themselves and have a sense of protection.”
Robinson, who now works at a reproductive justice nonprofit, filed a charge with the EEOC before the federal agency ultimately took legal action against the Admiral.
During summer 2020, Robinson posted a petition on change.org naming the Admiral and calling for an end to discriminatory practices at exotic dance clubs, according to the EEOC’s original lawsuit. The federal agency had alleged that the Admiral retaliated against Robinson by not inviting her back to work when it reopened after its pandemic closure.
Speaking about her experience at the Admiral, Robinson described watching her peers who were white receive preferential treatment from both club management and customers. She described some of her experiences working at the club as “hurtful and traumatizing.”
In its lawsuit, the EEOC had alleged the club had discriminated against Black dancers like Robinson in numerous ways, including by requiring Black dancers to wear wigs or straighten their hair, but not making that a requirement for white dancers. The original lawsuit also alleged the club didn’t let Black dancers perform consecutively onstage and limited Black dancers from performing during peak hours, hurting their ability to earn tips.
In a statement, EEOC spokesperson Victor Chen said that “choosing to work as an adult entertainer does not constitute consent to harassment at work based on race or sex.”
“This settlement provides meaningful relief to the entertainers who were subject to discrimination and participated in the EEOC’s lawsuit. Further, this resolution demonstrates that federal laws against employment discrimination protect workers in all types of workplaces,” he said.