Australian Miners Lose Six-Figure Jobs for Recording a 'Harlem Shake' Video

PERTH, Australia (TheBlaze/AP) — The dance craze the "Harlem Shake" might have been taken too far -- again. In an incident last week, the Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation into the dance that occurred on a plane in flight. Now, an Australian newspaper reports up to 15 miners have been fired for performing the "Harlem Shake" underground in a gold mine.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

The West Australian newspaper reports the miners lost their six-figure salaries over the stunt in the Agnew Gold Mine last week.

Here's a news report regarding the incident from 7 News Perth showing footage of the miner's version of the viral fad (Note: Some suggestive dance moves):

A dismissal letter cited by the paper says mine owner Barminco considered the stunt a safety issue. Barminco did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

A YouTube video shows eight miners performing the convulsive dance. A sacked worker who wouldn't give his name told the newspaper that up to 15 people were fired, including some who watched the performance but did not participate.

Up to 4,000 videos of "Harlem Shake" variations are uploaded on the Internet daily. It's not the first time the Harlem Shake has been filmed by people on the job either. Here are a few 'Shake' videos made in the workplace:

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