TUMWATER, Wash. — Starting on Jan. 2, 2025, those who work in the adult entertainment industry will see an increase in safety measures and wage improvements.
On Tuesday, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announced that adult entertainers will be able to keep more of their wages and be safer.
The rules were approved and signed into law in March 2024.
“Like any other worker in the state, adult entertainers deserve job-site safety and protection from unfair labor practices,” said Celeste Monahan, L&I assistant director for Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards. “These new rules make sure safety and a level playing field are the standard.”
According to L&I, the stronger requirements include:
- Protective systems: Install and maintain accessible panic buttons in bathrooms, dressing rooms, and each room where entertainers could be alone with customers and secure dressing and locker rooms with a keypad requiring an entry code.
- Improved security: Dedicated security guards must be present during operating hours.
- Blocking problematic customers: Maintain a list of customers who’ve allegedly committed sex trafficking, prostitution, promotion of prostitution, and acts of violence against entertainers and ban those customers from the establishment for three years.
- Training to employees other than entertainers to minimize unprofessional behavior by workers in adult entertainment establishments and enable them to support the entertainers in times of conflict.
- Eliminating unfair financial systems: The rules remove systems that held adult entertainers responsible for most of the club’s fees. Allows workers to keep their tips and gratuities and not disclose the amounts.
- Improved complaint process: Ensures complaints are investigated and makes it easier for workers to engage with L&I.
More information about L&I’s adult entertainment rulemaking can be found on their website.
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