California Gym Accused of Cheating Workers Out of Wages and Breaks

Working in a gym may seem like a straightforward job, but for many fitness trainers and hourly employees, it’s anything but simple. Behind the upbeat music and the daily grind of dealing with clients, workers often face unpredictable schedules, physical demands and complicated pay structures. California law is meant to offer strong protections for gym workers, especially when it comes to wages, breaks and basic working conditions.

Still, not every employer follows the rules. When companies cut corners or overlook labor laws, the impact can fall heavily on the people showing up early, staying late and keeping the business running. A recent class action lawsuit against Crunch Fitness draws attention to the kinds of employment practices that may be more common in the fitness industry than many realize.

The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It involves claims from a former employee who says Crunch Fitness failed to pay workers for all hours worked, undercounted overtime and ignored required break and sick leave policies. While the lawsuit is still in its early stages, it raises questions about whether Crunch Fitness is complying with California’s labor laws.

One key issue involves how Crunch Fitness reportedly calculated time worked. According to the lawsuit, employees were required to clock out before heading from their workstations to the break room for a meal break, meaning they weren’t paid for that time. Over the course of a week or a month, those lost minutes can add up. In some cases, they may push a worker’s total hours beyond the 40-hour threshold that triggers overtime pay.

Overtime is another area of concern. Under California law, non-exempt employees must be paid one and a half times their regular rate of pay when they work more than eight hours in a day or over 40 hours a workweek. The lawsuit claims Crunch Fitness failed to include commission earnings in its overtime calculations, which would result in workers being underpaid.

Break violations were also part of the complaint. California requires employers to provide a second unpaid meal break to workers who put in shifts of 10 hours or more. The lawsuit alleges that Crunch Fitness did not consistently provide this second break, leaving employees to work long days without proper time to rest or eat.

In addition, Crunch Fitness is accused of failing to properly track and pay out sick leave. State law requires that workers accrue paid sick leave at a minimum rate, and when they use that time, it must be compensated at the correct rate. The complaint alleges that Crunch Fitness had no clear process to calculate or issue sick pay.

Crunch Fitness has faced similar accusations before. Between 2018 and 2023, 25 California locations were cited for labor law violations. These included failing to pay workers for all hours worked, requiring off-the-clock labor, denying rest and meal periods and not providing accurate wage statements. In some cases, employees were not reimbursed for work-related expenses, and some were not paid their final wages on time when they resigned or were terminated.

The issues don’t stop with wage calculations and break violations. Across the fitness industry in California, many gyms have come under scrutiny for misclassifying employees as independent contractors. This practice allows businesses to avoid paying certain wages and benefits, but under California law, it’s not permitted unless the employer can prove that three specific conditions are met. The worker must be free from the company’s control, perform work outside the business’s core offerings and operate their own independent business. If any one of those conditions is missing, the worker is entitled to the full protections of employee status.

In theory, California’s labor laws provide strong safeguards for wage earners. In practice, however, those protections often rely on workers knowing their rights and being willing to speak up when something seems off. That can be especially difficult in industries like fitness, where jobs are seen as flexible or informal, and violations may not always be obvious.

If you work in a gym or other hourly position and believe your employer is not paying you properly, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. The San Francisco employment lawyers at McCormack Law Firm help workers enforce their rights and hold employers accountable for wage theft, misclassification and other workplace violations. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. McCormack Law Firm is not involved in this case.