Strip club operator Scores Holding Co. Inc. agreed Tuesday in New York to pay $450,000 to make peace with a group of dancers, servers and bartenders in a collective action alleging the company stiffed them on tips and overtime pay.  The proposed settlement, which still requires court approval, would resolve all class and collective claims that Scores has faced in the suit since 2007. The workers accused the nightclub chain of regularly confiscating employees' tips and committing other wage-and-hour misdeeds at two of its New York City locations in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York state labor law.  In Tuesday's memorandum supporting the settlement, the plaintiffs said the proposed deal was fair and reasonable, and should be approved by the court.

"The settlement was the result of vigorously contested litigation lasting nearly four years, with substantial formal and informal discovery, motion practice, and arm's-length negotiation conducted over much of that time," the plaintiffs said.  Under the terms of the deal, Scores would create a $450,000 fund to settle the claims of the 83 plaintiffs who opted in to the FLSA collective action — which the court conditionally certified in 2008 — and the employees would drop the claims of the putative class plaintiffs who did not file a consent form to take part in the suit.  In exchange for the fund payment, the opt-in plaintiffs agreed to drop their wage-and-hour claims under the FLSA and New York labor laws. (click on link to read full story)