Goodlife class action goes nationwide!
The proposed class action against Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc. for unpaid wages, including overtime has been extended beyond Ontario and will now include Goodlife’s club locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Goodlife does not operate any clubs in Quebec or the Territories.
Goodlife is the largest fitness chain in Canada, with approximately 365 locations nationwide. The claim against Goodlife, for damages totalling $85 million, is brought on behalf of its current and former non-managerial employees who worked for Goodlife 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 employed in the City of Toronto, Ontario at any time after July 7, 2016, or in the City of Ajax, Ontario at any time after October 31, 2016, at which time these 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.
“The expansion of the class action is in response to an outpouring of messages from Goodlife employees from across the country,” said Charles Sinclair, counsel to the plaintiff. Josh Mandryk, co-counsel, added “What we heard from Goodlife employees from outside of Ontario was that their experiences were the same as those set out in the Statement of Claim, and that they didn’t want to be left out of the class action.”
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.
There is more information here.
Inquiries may be directed to Charles Sinclair (416-979-4234) or Josh Mandryk (416-979-6970).
Lawyers
Charles Sinclair, Joshua Mandryk