Fitness club chain 24 Hour Fitness is the subject of a gender and racial discrimination lawsuit filed by the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and a California-based law firm.  The lawsuit claims that 24 Hour Fitness discriminates against its employees based on race and gender.  There are a total of six plaintiffs named in the lawsuit. 

According to the lawsuit, black, Hispanic or Asian and female employees at 24 Hour Fitness find that there's a glass ceiling whenever they apply for higher-paying jobs at the company.  They claim there are no specified criteria for promotions at the company.   Rather, they suggest, these decisions are arbitrary, and are usually made by white men.  The lawsuit also alleges that managers who are nonwhite, are paid lower salaries than white employees. 

The lawsuit is seeking lost wages and damages. It is also seeking class-action status.  If the lawsuit gains class-action status, then it could include more than 10,000 ethnic and female employees at the chain.  According to the plaintiffs, this practice of discrimination at 24-Hour Fitness is found across the country. 24-Hour Fitness is based in San Ramon, California, and has about 400 clubs across 17 states.

You would think that in the 21st century, workplace discrimination based on employees’ race or gender would be unthinkable.  Unfortunately, California employment discrimination attorneys continue to come across such discriminatory practices. Federal and California laws forbid such racial or gender discrimination.   Under California laws, discriminating on the basis of ethnicity or race in any matters that are related to the person’s terms of employment is prohibited.  These terms of employment can include the person’s salary, hours of work, vacation, overtime and other factors.  Not only that, employers are expressly forbidden from discriminating right from the time they place advertisements for positions in the company, through interviews, hiring, transfers and promotions.