ATLANTA — A former employee of Atlanta club Magic City filed a federal lawsuit against the company and owner Michael Barney, Sr., claiming she was sexually harassed and forced to participate in an illegal “kickback” involving her wages and tips.
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Courtney Hale filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court’s Atlanta Division. She said she was fired after requesting she be “properly paid minimum wage and her earned tips” in accordance with federal law.
She claimed her pay was “confiscated” in the amounts of “tens of thousands of dollars from her” by a manager at the club, ranging from $500 to $1,500 at a time, two to three times per week.
Additionally, Hale alleged she was subject to a sexually hostile work environment and was retaliated against for rejecting that harassment and reporting it. The lawsuit claims one of the club managers would regularly harass and assault Hale, by forcibly grabbing her buttocks and breasts and making vulgar statements on a recurring and regular basis, including by text message.
She said this created a hostile work environment.
Magic City, which is owned and operated by Paradise Entertainment at 241 Forsyth St. SW in Atlanta, employed Hale as a dancer from September 2022 to Sept. 25, 2023, according to her lawsuit.
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The lawsuit also said that on Sept. 30, 2023, the company posted a statement about her on what was then called Twitter, using account name magiccityatlanta, that said “This girl does not work here and is crazy AF,” disparaging Hale “to discredit her allegations.”
Responding to a request for comment from Channel 2 Action News, an attorney representing Magic City said that the company denies all allegations raised by Hale, adding:
“Ms. Hale worked as an employee of Magic City from September 2022 to September 2023. Magic City does not believe there was any sexual harassment of Ms. Hale while she worked at the Club and Ms. Hale did not report any harassment to management during this time frame. She signed employment agreements which Magic City contends she has breached concerning defamation, disparagement, and publication of confidential information, all on social media. She was sent two cease and desist letters to no avail. She also signed an arbitration agreement which Magic City will seek to enforce. Magic City believes all wages paid to Ms. Hale were appropriate, legal, and substantial. Magic City intends to defend the lawsuit and arbitration vigorously.”
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