State charges Stars Cabaret with sexual harassment of minors

Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian has filed formal civil rights charges against Stars Cabaret for unlawful sexual harassment of minors, the Bureau of Labor and Industries announced Wednesday.

Respondents may now request a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge.

BOLI investigators had previously found that Stars Cabaret unlawfully discriminated against two employees, 13 and 15 years of age. The investigation determined that Stars knew or should have known about repeated sexual harassment.

“A commissioner’s complaint can shield the identity of victims who’ve suffered extreme workplace abuse and harassment,” Avakian said. “Today’s charges reflect the severity of conditions faced by these vulnerable minors.”

During the period from August to September 2014 — after police had arrested one of Stars’ Beaverton managers on charges of sexual abuse and compelling prostitution of a 13 year old minor — the club employed another female 15 years of age to work as an adult entertainer.

The charges also note that Stars Cabaret failed to adequately vet forms of identification, keep adequate records, and discourage sexual harassment. Witnesses described dancers being groped by managers and managers giving dancers better shifts and benefits in exchange for sex acts.

Stars Cabaret chose not to implement uniform precautionary measures to protect minors outside of the Beaverton location because, as owner Randy Kaiser stated to BOLI, they were “not obligated to.”

Civil rights investigators previously determined that the 13-year-old and 15-year-old minors were employees, not independent contractors who entered into an enforceable contract.

The Administrative Prosecution Unit will seek at least $4 million per victim, with specific amounts to be proven at hearing for emotional distress damages. The unit will also pursue civil penalties for violations of child labor laws.

Copies of the commissioner’s complaint and formal charges are public documents available on the agency’s website here.

BOLI Communications Director Charlie Burr said the charges list Stars in the Cascades, the Bend location, as respondents and note that the ownership and management failed to fully implement precautionary measures to protect minors there and in other non-Beaverton locations.

“Our civil rights investigators also interviewed workers from the Bend location,” Burr wrote. “Any Bend worker from Stars can contact our Civil Rights Division at 971-673-0764 if he or she has information about unlawful discrimination and harassment. A commissioner’s complaint can help shield the identity of vulnerable workers who want to remain anonymous.”

Workers can start the civil rights complaint process by contacting the Civil Rights Division at crdemail@boli.state.or.us or by calling 971-673-0764. A new live entertainment hotline at 1-844-304-2654 also can provide workers information about retaliation, sex discrimination, harassment, unlawful wage practices and a host of other workplace protections. Callers to the toll-free hotline may request confidentiality.

A previous commissioner’s complaint against Daimler Trucks North America resulted in a record $2.4 million civil rights settlement last year, the largest in the agency’s history. The agency is also investigating a commissioner’s complaint against contractor Evan Williams and related companies alleging retaliation, threats of violence, and other unlawful practices against employees who filed wage complaints.