Attorneys Sue 24 Hour Fitness for Suspected Wage & Hour Violations On Behalf of Employees Who Were Denied Overtime Pay

    MIAMI, FL, July 28, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Litigation attorney Pelayo Duran and employment rights lawyer Roderick Hannah have filed two separate lawsuits in Miami Federal Court today claiming 24 Hour Fitness USA refused to pay overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The first suit represents fitness managers (Case #11-CV-22694) and the second targets sales counselors (Case #11-CV-22700).

Attorneys said both lawsuits cover the classes of employees throughout the nation who worked more than 40 hours per week yet were not paid one and one-half times their hourly rate for overtime. 24 Hour Fitness currently has more than three million members globally with 425 clubs and nearly 20,000 employees in the United States.

"We would like all similarly situated current and former employees, and any other witnesses, to voluntarily come forward who might have personal knowledge or documented evidence detailing how supervisors routinely removed overtime hours from timesheets and payroll records to avoid compensating employees," said Duran.

According to the lawsuits, the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial to recover back overtime pay at one and one-half times their regular hourly rates for all excess hours worked in any seven-day period; an equal amount of liquidated damages; reasonable attorney's fees; costs and expenses of this action; and other relief as allowed by law.

Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., 24 Hour Fitness is owned by the private equity firm Forstmann Little & Company since its acquisition in a $1.6 billion leveraged buyout in 2005. Attorneys said 24 Hour Fitness has been sued in the past for overtime violations in other states.

"Despite the prior lawsuits, 24 Hour Fitness has failed, and continues to fail to pay proper overtime wages to its fitness managers and sales counselors," said Duran. "We are pursuing national class action certifications that would allow all current and former employees from across the nation to join in the lawsuits and obtain compensation."

"What is most troubling about the 24 Hour Fitness clubs," according to Hannah, "is not only the fact that they routinely did not pay overtime, but that the company encouraged its club managers to manipulate and falsify employee time records with the specific intent of denying the employees monies that they had worked hard for and had earned."

Specifically, the lawsuits target:

1. All current and former employees of Defendant 24 Hour Fitness USA, Inc. who worked as Sales Counselors, or any other employee who sold gymnasium or health club memberships for a commission, (1) who worked at any location in the United States that was owned, operated and/or acquired by Defendant during the class period, and (2) who claim they were not paid for overtime hours worked and seek payment for such hours.

2. All current and former employees of Defendant 24 Hour Fitness USA, Inc. who worked as Fitness Managers and (1) who worked at any location in the United States that was owned, operated and/or acquired by Defendant during the class period, and (2) who claim they were not paid for overtime hours worked and seek payment for such hours.

For more information, interested parties could visit http://www.pelayoduran.com/class-action-lawsuit.php or call 305-266-9780.

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