DC Attorney General investigating strip club owners accused of violating workers' rights

WASHINGTON - D.C.’s Attorney General is cracking down on what they’re calling abusive and illegal practices at a popular adult entertainment venue in Mount Vernon Triangle. 

The 32-page lawsuit is graphic and details some disturbing allegations against the owners of the Cloakroom and its business practices as a whole, especially in relation to their female workers. 

While a representative of the company reportedly denies the claims and says they run an upstanding business, the AG’S report tells a much different story. 

"These allegations are particularly troubling. They violations of a panoply of workers' rights," said Dennis Corkery, the D.C. OAG Assistant Chief of Workers’ Rights and Antifraud.

Cloakroom is a multi-level adult entertainment venue located in on K Street, near 5th Street in Mount Vernon Triangle. Its name is widely recognized in the industry and in 2021 it was named Washington City Paper’s "Best of DC Adult Entertainment" winner.

But according to the recent lawsuit from the D.C. OAG and an in depth investigation, the company’s practices are coming into question with allegations of an environment of "daily hostility and exploitation of the clubs female employees" and claims that the owners "not only tolerated the abuse but perpetuate the abuse themselves" 

"There are situations of extreme sexual harassment, including verbal assaults, physical assaults, sexual touching that happened there," Corkery says. 

RELATED: DC strip club lawsuit: Owners accused of harassment, stealing dancers’ cash

The lawsuit goes on to claim that there was a system of quid pro quo when it came to requesting time off. 

"They were not given sick leave at all, but when they tried to access time off — whether paid or unpaid — there would be situations where managers would ask for sexual favors in exchange for giving that time off," Corkery said. 

The OAG’s investigators say the Cloakroom also cheated its dancers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout the years.

"Extreme wage theft, like having a system like ‘the Cloak Bucks’ where it was tips customers believed were going to entertainers and should have been going to the entertainers but instead went back to pad the pockets of the Cloakroom," said Corkery.

The OAG applauds the women for coming forward since workers who spoke up were allegedly punished and retaliated against. those who live and work in the area had this to say: 

"I’m hoping that this is a perfect example of we’re finally starting to stand up for ourselves, women are starting to stand up for ourselves and men are standing up for women as well," one neighbor said. 

FOX 5 made multiple attempts to speak with the Cloakroom’s owner but they denied those requests. 

If these allegations are proven in court, Cloakroom could be ordered to pay workers up to three times the amount of wages and tips stolen from them and be ordered by the court to change many of their practices.