1978: Nevada puzzles over labor classification of brothel workers

William sez, "On August 2, 1978, a landmark decision in Reno Federal Court ruled prostitutes are actually brothel employees and therein lies the SIC coding problem unique to Nevada. My father in law was an economist for the federal bureau of labor statistics. Today he shared with me a document he found in the back of a desk drawer. Apparently the folks in Nevada responsible for categorizing businesses by industry (formerly called the Standard Industrial Classification system, now known as NAICS) weren't sure how to label brothels, which had previously been staffed by independent contractors until such practice had been deemed illegal. Thus a victory for worker rights became a nightmare for the local government officials."

REQUEST FOR SIC CODING INTERPRETATION (Thanks, William Ray Yeager!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: bureaucracy • History • nv • Old school • Sex

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GawainLavers

What was 0291? Cowboy?

[Edit]
Oh.
http://www.marigoldtech.com/lists/sic.php?sic-code=0291

Establishments deriving 50 percent or more of their total value of sales of agricultural products from livestock and animal specialties and their products, but less than 50 percent from products of any single three-digit industry group.
http://glitch.tl/ Michael Smith

My favourite is Relief Services – Temporary
- invictus
  
  Cryptonomicon, anyone?
  (referring to this, if you’re not familiar)
  - http://glitch.tl/ Michael Smith
    
    Its the ejaculation control conspiracy right there.
- Ryan Lenethen
  
  Mine too. I think also whoever wrote this either had a sense of humor or thought it a good joke. God forbid they make a new code 6969 Prostitute.
  
  However working with old systems I think I can grok where they are coming from.
franko

i love my state.
coweatyou

I love 7033: Recreational Vehicle Parks and Campsites.
http://www.facebook.com/postelwait Cameron Postelwait

“providing social services and rehabilitation services to those persons with social or personal problems…”

i knew prostitutes were for nerds.
http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art

Simply put it under the default “Farm Labor” Category. Solved.
- http://www.facebook.com/postelwait Cameron Postelwait
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhUBZiwio0w
citizen

I guess they settled on 729903:
http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/sic.asp?sic=7299

Just look at that list! It has everything from philosophers to electro body sculpting…
- Jake Rennie
  
  And Jazzercise. Don’t forget Jazzercise.
kallikanzaros

“… any one of the proposed codes might be appropriate depending upon one’s position…”
Perhaps depending upon your favorite position with a particular employee, anyway
Ursula Powers

I worked for the City of Elko Planning Department for a few years. It was an eye-opening experience when we revised our city brothel ordinance.

Did you know in some brothel counties, the “girls” can only leave the brothels during their monthly periods? And during that time frame, they have to leave town and may not “poach” customers from their brothels? Yep. It is what it is.