Reports have surfaced that CorePower Yoga LLC and students who filed a class action suit against the company have agreed to a preliminary $1.65 million settlement. A hearing is scheduled for June of 2017 to determine if final approval for the agreement will be necessary. William Walsh filed the class action lawsuit in October 2016, at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. According to the allegations in the lawsuit, CorePower Yoga did not pay their employees the proper minimum wage as set by California law.
Possible Unfair Business Practices Leading to the Lawsuit
CorePower Yoga began their “Yoga for Trade” program. This program offered memberships to the students of the company’s yoga classes, if they were willing to work as custodians for 2 to 3 hours a week. The suit alleges that the company soon discontinued the program and replaced it with their “Studio Experience” program. This allowed students to continue working for weekly shifts for hourly wages. The suit states that the students who were employed under this program were also required to spend a significant part of their wages for discounted memberships to CorePower Yoga. In other words, they were effectively paid below minimum wage rates due to this requirement.
The class action lawsuit represented approximately 2,700 students who were part of the Yoga for trade program, as well as 4,900 students who worked as part of the Studio Experience program.
The Minimum Wage Lawsuits in California
Starting on the first day of 2017, employers with 25 or fewer employees are required to pay workers at least a minimum wage of $10 an hour. For companies with at least 26 employees, the rate is $10.50 an hour. This is the minimum wage law in California, and the amount is greater than the amount guaranteed by federal law. This means that employers are required to follow the law that specifies a higher wage for the employees. Local jurisdictions such as cities and towns can also enact their own laws regarding minimum wage, and these laws cannot specify a rate that’s lower than the state minimum wage. They may specify higher rates instead, and the companies that are located in their jurisdictions must comply with the higher rates.
Can you sue your employer?
If you are an employee, then you are entitled to a fair wage. Unfair wages aren’t limited to just receiving lower pay per hour. The suit alleges that CorePower Yoga failed to provide fair wages because they dictated how employees should to spend their money.
Other ways of receiving unfair wages is if you’re not paid for overtime fairly, or if your job has been wrongfully classified as deserving only minimum wage. If any of these circumstances are similar to yours, then you may have a case for a civil suit. You should consult with a wage and hour specialist lawyer who can discuss your legal options with you.
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