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