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Former Blush & Blu workers file lawsuit over rampant wage theft and race-based worker mistreatment

Discrimination Wage Theft / Misclassification

Overview

Three former employees of Blush & Blu, one of the few remaining lesbian bars in the country, filed a lawsuit against the prominent Denver bar. The workers allege that Blush & Blu and its owner Jody Bouffard discriminated against one of the bar’s only Black workers, habitually failed to pay its employees minimum wage, and, at times, failed to pay them at all. Lesbian bars have long played a crucial role in building queer community and creating a safe space for the queer and trans communities. But the complaint asserts that, for close to a decade, Blush & Blu weaponized the so-called “safe space” and “family” at the bar to create a culture of obligation and manipulate workers into enduring mistreatment, racism, and oppressive employment practices.

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