Class Action Launched against Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc.
Goldblatt Partners LLP announces today the commencement of a proposed class action against Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc. for unpaid wages, including overtime.
Goodlife is the largest fitness chain in Canada, with approximately 365 locations nationwide, including 166 Goodlife gyms in Ontario. The claim against Goodlife, for damages totalling $60 million, is brought on behalf of its current and former non-managerial employees who worked for Goodlife in its Ontario clubs since October 2014. It is expected that the class will be comprised of thousands of current and former employees.
The class action does not seek to recover unpaid wages (including overtime) for personal trainers incurred at any time after July 7, 2016 at which time the personal trainers became represented by the Workers United Canada Council.
The proposed representative plaintiff, Carrie Eklund, worked for Goodlife as a personal trainer at Goodlife’s Bathurst and Richmond club in Toronto from November 2014 until August 2015.
The statement of claim alleges that Goodlife regularly required or permitted its employees to work many additional unpaid hours beyond those for which they were scheduled in order to meet their sales targets and complete the duties required of them by Goodlife. However, as alleged in the statement of claim, Goodlife does not compensate its employees for these additional unpaid hours worked.
“This is an important claim that seeks to protect the rights of precarious workers to be paid for all of their working time,” said Charles Sinclair, counsel to the Plaintiffs. Josh Mandryk, co-counsel, added “We hope that this proposed class action will allow Goodlife employees to receive the payment to which they are entitled, when they are otherwise powerless to do so in the face of Goodlife’s systemic policies and practices.”
The next major step in this case will be the filing of affidavit material by the plaintiff in support of a motion to have this case certified as a class action. The date for the certification motion has not yet been set.
Inquiries may be directed to Charles Sinclair (416-979-4234) or Josh Mandryk (416-979-6970).
Lawyers
Charles Sinclair, Joshua Mandryk