Crunch Fitness Lawsuit Targets California Labor Law Violations

Fitness is big business in California, and fitness jobs are clearly sought after. But a review of the Eloisa allegations and other similar California labor lawsuits suggest that wage and hour violations are endemic throughout the industry. Fitness trainers must be armed with information about their rights under California law.

Eloisa allegations

In his Complaint, Eloisa details four major categories of violations:

• Undercounting of hours worked. First, he alleges that he and other hourly employees were not paid for the time between when they clocked out for a meal break at their work stations and the time when they reached the break room. As a result, their time worked was chronically undercounted. 

• Overtime miscalculation. The undercount could cause them to work more than 40 hours per week, for which they were not paid at the required overtime rate. Furthermore, Crunch failed to include workers’ commission pay when calculating their regular rate of pay for overtime purposes, the lawsuit said. 

• Meal breaks. In addition, Crunch did not consistently provide workers with a second 30-minute meal break if they worked 10 or more hours per day. 

• Sick leave pay. Finally, Crunch had no procedure in place to calculate paid sick leave at the required rate of one hour per 30 minutes worked.

Endemic pay problems

Crunch’s issues with calculating the wages due to the class of employees described in Eloisa are not limited to just those workers or just the listed violations or even to Crunch Fitness. Between 2018 and 2023, 25 California Crunch Fitness Gyms, operating under a variety of names, were cited for a total of 7 different violations of California labor law, including failing to:

• pay minimum wages and overtime compensation for all hours worked because employees were required to work “off-the-clock”;

• provide legally required, off-duty meal periods;

• provide legally required, off-duty rest periods;

• reimburse employees for business-related expenses they incurred at Crunch Fitness’s direction; 

• provide accurate wage statements;

• pay wages when due at termination or resignation; and

• violating California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

In 2020, a different California wage and hour lawsuit accused Crunch of 

• requiring personal trainers to work off the clock without compensation;

• failing to pay wages for sick time and paid time off at the workers’ regular rate of pay; 

• refusing to pay split shift premiums;

• denying employees proper meal and rest breaks; 

• failing to provide proper wage statements; and

• altering employees’ timecards to reduce the number of hours worked.

In addition, many California gyms are reportedly incorrectly classifying (and paying) workers as independent contractors. Under A.B. 5, workers, including personal fitness trainers, are presumptively classified as employees protected by the provisions of California labor law unless the employer can conclusively demonstrate that the worker is:

• free from control and direction in the performance of services; and 

• performing work outside the usual course of the business of the hiring company; and

• customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business.

All three of these elements are necessary.

Forewarned is Forearmed

California labor law is very protective of the rights of hourly-paid workers. A law degree should not be required as part of a fitness trainer’s education, but some basic familiarity with these protections seems well-advised.  
In California wage earners are entitled to:

• minimum wage of $16.50 per hour as of January 1, 2025. (Some localities have a higher minimum for all employers);

• overtime pay of 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 8 in a day or 40 in a week;

• equal pay for substantially the same work regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity;

• a 30-minute unpaid meal break after working more than 5 hours and an additional meal break at 10 hours;

  READ MORE CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW LEGAL NEWS

  More CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW News

• a 10-minute paid rest break for every 4 hours worked;

• protection from discrimination based on various protected characteristics, including race, gender, religion, age or disability;

• protection from retaliation against employees who report labor law violations or engage in other protected activities;

• safe working conditions; and

• the right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining. 

If you need help enforcing your rights, do not feel alone, but reach out to experienced legal counsel.