The ultra-luxurious Santa Monica Correct resort — the place rooms vary from round $600 to $2,600 an evening — has been accused of failing to pay its workers minimal wage and, in some instances, paying them much less per hour than it prices company for a bowl of hummus.
This week, a class-action lawsuit was submitted to the L.A. County Superior Courtroom towards the upscale resort on behalf of round 100 employees who’ve allegedly been underpaid for years.
The 263-room resort guarantees company an expertise the place “each second is taken into account by means of a luxurious lens,” in response to its web site, and boasts two famend eating places, a rooftop pool, a health middle and an award-winning spa.
“Eating choices function gadgets like $21 mocktails and $250 wagyu steaks,” states the grievance. “Regardless of these premium costs, the Correct resort doesn’t pay its employees the minimal wage.” Representatives for the Santa Monica Correct resort didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
In Santa Monica, all resort workers are entitled to the minimal wage stipulated by the Santa Monica Resort Employee Residing Wage Ordinance — which was set at $19.73 in July 2023, jumped to $20.32 in July 2024, and a 12 months later is $21.01. These charges are just like these set by town of L.A.’s minimal wage ordinance for resort employees.
Plaintiffs Chelsea Kupitz and Eric Block are servers who’ve labored on the resort since 2019 and are pursuing the class-action go well with on behalf of all workers whose rights below the Santa Monica ordinance have allegedly been violated.
“No luxurious resort is above the legislation,” legal professional Alexander Winnick advised The Occasions. “Santa Monica’s resort employee residing wage displays town’s dedication to a good and vibrant tourism business and to retaining wages aggressive with different cities. Typically it takes brave employees to face as much as shield everybody’s rights.”
In Santa Monica, the one method motels can obtain an exception to the ordinance is by making use of for a one-year waiver, arguing that compliance would pressure a shutdown, or by reaching a collective bargaining settlement with workers that features a waiver.
The Santa Monica Correct resort has by no means formally sought a waiver from town claiming it’s unable to afford the charges, in response to the grievance. The resort did have language in its earlier collective bargaining settlement about sidestepping the ordinance’s pay charges, however that settlement expired in June 2023, the grievance states.
Since then, the resort has failed to lift its wages in keeping with these mandated by the ordinance — leaving many workers incomes an hourly fee that’s lower than the $20 charged for a bowl of hummus on the resort’s rooftop restaurant, in response to the grievance.
The grievance additional alleges that the language within the collective bargaining settlement was not particular sufficient to represent a proper waiver to the ordinance, and due to this fact, workers have been underpaid since July 2022.
“They [staff] have been systematically denied the minimal wages mandated by the Ordinance,” states the grievance. “This shortfall not solely undercuts their livelihoods however highlights the evident hypocrisy of a luxurious institution profiting handsomely whereas skimping on truthful pay for many who make it shine.”
Plaintiffs are looking for a jury trial and compensatory damages together with again pay owed to employees. As well as, they’re asking for penalties of $100 per day per particular person whose rights had been violated below the Santa Monica Resort Employee Residing Wage Ordinance plus additional penalties for violations of the California Labor Code.
They’re additionally looking for a court docket order requiring that the resort prominently show resort employee minimal wage charges and that an unbiased celebration monitor the resort’s payroll compliance for 2 to 3 years.
