On March 12, 2018, a complete story documenting the ongoing conflict between 24 Hour Fitness’s staff and management appeared in Capital & Main. At the heart of these conflicts is National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) claim that the organization’s staff negotiation arrangements breach federal employment regulations (Goodheart, 2018). In federal courts, the first lawsuits were initially brought in 2000. According to the paper, the corporation has been the target of more than eight times as many lawsuits as its nearest rival on a per-establishment basis. The article claims there are currently six hundred and twenty-one cases filed against the company.
Furthermore, the report attributes the conflict between 24 hour fitness and plaintiff lawyer Richard Donahoo, who pursued individual claims after a federal judge decertified the lawsuit for the high number of lawsuits. The report quotes Donahoo as saying, “Our case became a ‘careful what you wish for’ scenario for the corporation (Goodheart, 2018). Fortunately, 24 hour fitness ultimately resolved the claims together. Additionally, the Author claims that the Supreme Court may hear the case involving the NLRB in the upcoming term. The question is whether 24 hour fitness employment contracts that request employees forgo their ability to participate in a class action violate worker safeguards.
After reading the article, I think 24 hour fitness broke labor laws. Firstly, the company went against wage and hour laws due to its singular concentration on selling memberships. The article further states that a previous general manager who worked in fitness facilities in Colorado before quitting his job in 2006 narrates how they worked from 8 to 8 daily (Goodheart, 2018). He further claims that lunch breaks were taken at the club, and if a staff member managed to go out, he/she was required to return immediately and proceed to work.
Secondly, the company maintained and enforced an unconstitutional arbitration clause that caused workers to waive their ability to strike collectively. As part of the company’s arbitration agreement, employees are asked to renounce their ability to file class action lawsuits. According to labor groups, a select few businesses went above and out of their way to oppose and safeguard adjudication in the past. Astonishingly, 24 hour fitness has been particularly antagonistic in protecting its arbitration agreement in the courts (Goodheart, 2018). This clearly indicates that the company made employees forfeit their right to form a group and file class action lawsuits to resolve legal issues at work.
24 hour fitness can recover from negative publicity and turn its situation around in various ways. The company took the bold step of changing ownership to rebuild its image. According to Greenheart (2018), the company was bought in 2014 through a takeover bid by AEA Investors LP, a private equity firm in New York, Fitness Capital Partners of Palm Beach, Florida, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan of Toronto.
Furthermore, the company should ultimately promote the significance of fitness rather than merely selling customers a subscription they may or may not utilize. Additionally, 24 Hour Fitness should help its current and potential customers succeed in their fitness quest. Such measures will change the company’s perception, and customers will start viewing the corporation as being customer-centered and not profit oriented.
Lastly, 24 hour fitness should consider implementing amendments beyond club operations and offerings. In addition, the company should reduce the number of clubs and outlets it operates. The management team should conduct a tactical assessment of clubs on financial thoughts and considerations, previous and potential future club performance, geographic considerations, and the number of clubs required to serve a specified market. The unconstitutional arbitration rule that demanded workers waive their right to organize a coordinated strike, and forbade them to discuss such claims within themselves, is a breach of labor laws. Employees cannot relinquish their statutory rights to act collectively via individual agreements that employers can make with them.
Reference
Goodheart, J. (2018). Why 24 Hour fitness is going to the mat against its own employees. Capital & Main – Investigating Power & Politics. Web.