European Wax Center Operating Cos. Facing Claims of Wage Violations

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The operating companies of around 18 corporately owned European Wax Center locations are the defendants in a proposed collective action that claims individuals employed as wax specialists were not paid proper overtime wages or “gap time” compensation, and were subjected to unlawful deductions from their rightful commissions. The 30-page lawsuit, filed in New York, names the below companies as defendants:

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants employ a system that miscalculates wax specialists’ regular rate of pay in determining what they’re owed in overtime wages. The companies’ compensation system is made of two parts: a base hourly rate of pay and “supplemental compensation” paid in commissions for the sale of products and bonuses for meeting pre-determined sales goals and/or “winning ‘contests’.” This supplemental compensation, the complaint says, also included non-discretionary bonuses used to encourage wax specialists to work more rapidly and efficiently.

Per is design, wax specialists’ supplemental compensation is required to be included within the employees’ regular rate of pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). The case claims the defendants did not include supplemental pay within workers’ regular rate of pay at any point when calculating overtime wages.

The lawsuit then attacks the defendants’ alleged off-the-clock work requirements. The plaintiffs note the “fluid movement” of employees between EWC Merrick I-run and EWC Merrick II-run locations.

“Plaintiffs’ time worked at each location was recorded separately and [the plaintiffs] were paid on two separate paychecks during weeks they worked at both locations,” the case notes. “This effectively circumvents the FLSA and NYLL overtime laws when [the plaintiffs] worked more than 40 hours a week between the two locations.” Moreover, wax specialists were allegedly not paid for work done before the scheduled start of their shifts or after the scheduled end of their shifts.

Lastly, the plaintiffs claim the defendants “took unlawful deductions from [wax specialists’] earned commissions when they charged-back for returns and/or service touch-ups” after the service was already provide and/or the product was already sold.