Weight Loss and Fitness Chain $8.3 Million Lighter After Citations for Wage and Hour Violations

The Labor Commissioner’s latest press release announced citations of $8.3 million against Camp Bootcamp, Inc., dba Camp Transformation Center, which operates 15 fitness and weight loss centers from its Chino headquarters.

The citations include a long list of Labor Code violations during a three-year period from 2014 to 2017:

• Paying trainers and assistants only for classes taught, instead of paying them hourly for all time, including travel time between class locations, preparation and clean-up time, and attendance at mandatory staff meetings;
• Omitting to pay overtime by issuing as many as six separate pay checks from different locations so that no paycheck reflected the total time worked;
• Not providing meal and rest breaks for receptionists.

With violations affecting 551 workers, the Commissioner slimmed the company’s bottom line by:

• $1,188,536 for unpaid minimum wages;
• $421,979 for unpaid overtime;
• $1,388,347 in liquidated damages (a doubling of the minimum wage owed, plus interest);
• $392,106 for the meal/rest break violations;
• $522,166 in waiting time penalties (i.e., up to 30 days additional wages when an employer does not pay a worker in full at the time of leaving the job);
• $190,600 for not providing itemized wage statements;
• $1,350,200 in civil penalties; and
• $2,950,000 in contract wages owed to employees.

Commissioner Julie Su stated that “Employers should not expect to pass the cost of doing business to their workers – this is wage theft.”

Employers with a by-the-piece compensation system are required to pay for every hour worked, i.e., all hours when an employee is engaged in activities for the benefit of its employer, whether it be driving time, attending meetings, preparing equipment for the day’s work, or other activities.  See, Navigating Piece Work Pay in California (August, 2016). They also must provide 10-minute rest breaks in every 4-hour work period and 30- minute meal breaks for each 5 hours worked.  See, Employee Meal Periods and Rest Breaks (September, 2016).

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

Helena Kobrin

March 14, 2018