Beachbody.Photo:Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
A new class-action lawsuit alleges that fitness and diet powerhouse Beachbody exploited its workers, leaving more than a quarter of them unpaid.
The company, recently rebranded as BODi, “has been able to build its business through unpaid workers for years,” said Kristen Simplicio, a partner with consumer protection class-action law firm Tycko & Zavareei, toldThe Los Angeles Times.
“I thought becoming a coach for Beachbody was my opportunity to add a second stream of income with an added bonus of helping others reach their fitness goals,” Lyons said. “I didn’t realize how much Beachbody would demand of me and how little income I would see in return.”
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Beachbody Coach Summit in Nashville.John Shearer/Getty
John Shearer/Getty
Lyons said she spent $20,000 of her own money on travel and Beachbody’s products — and earned about $50 a month in commission.
The lawsuit claims that Beachbody is a “$3 billion publicly traded health and fitness empire" and seeks to “recover unpaid wages, overtime compensation, penalties, interest, injunctive relief, damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.”
A spokesperson for Beachbody said in a statement to PEOPLE: “The independent contractor status of direct sellers is well recognized on a federal and state level. California’s updated contractor law (AB5) includes an express exemption for network marketing distributors as part of a well-established legal framework that allows distributors to remain independent and allows them to work as much or as little as they want, controlling their own schedules. We will vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations."
It’s a case that’s reminiscent of the LuLaRoe multi-level marketing scandal, which was recounted in theAmazon Prime documentaryLulaRich.
Like leggings company LuLaRoe, Beachbody coaches earn commissions from product sales. As they advance in the company, the coaches are expected to recruit more coaches — and earn commissions from their “downline,” meaning those they recruited.
“With the MLM [multi-level marketing] industry in particular, we’ve known for a very long time that it’s very problematic,” Simplicio toldThe Los Angeles Times. “There are endless reports about how people who go in just do not make any money or they wind up losing money, and those people are disproportionately women…because they’re hoping to make some extra money and help raise their families.”
Beachbody Coach Summit in Nashville.Terry Wyatt/Getty
Terry Wyatt/Getty
“The idea is in California, time worked should be paid. That’s at least what our state’s labor laws and policies are,” Glenn Danas, a partner at Clarkson Law, which is jointly bringing the case to court with Tycko & Zavareei, toldThe Los Angeles Times.
“At the end of the day, Beachbody is profiting at the expense of workers who are not being paid for the time they’re putting into running Beachbody’s business.”
source: people.com
