Secret all-male Bohemian club faces new allegations of wage theft

San Francisco’s elite and secretive Bohemian Club faces new allegations of wage theft.

In a class-action lawsuit, former chef Ron Roussell accused the men-only club, which owns a clubhouse in the city and the 2,700-acre Bohemian Grove campground in Sonoma County, of withholding both regular and overtime wages and falsifying timesheets.

The lawsuit, filed in May, alleges that the wealthy group sometimes required its employees to work during meal times and then changed the clock-in and clock-out times to conceal the extra work. The club also pressured employees to forgo rest breaks. California law requires employers to give employees a 30-minute lunch break if they work more than five hours, and a 10-minute rest break for each additional hour of work.

Roussell also claims in her lawsuit that the club forced its employees to work before the start of the day, meaning employees had to put on protective gear, deal with the security system and undergo COVID screenings without being paid. She also claims that some employees had to pay business expenses without reimbursement and purchased things like uniforms, safety equipment and chef’s knives themselves.

The lawsuit said at least 100 employees could be involved in the case. According to the Bohemian Club’s tax return for the fiscal year ending in 2022, the organization employed 359 people at the time.

In response to the lawsuit, spokesman Sam Singer said the club values ​​its employees and their work.

“The allegations made in the lawsuit against the Bohemian Club are false and without merit,” he wrote in an email. “We believe the court will dismiss them, as it did in another recent case.”

As Singer suggested, the club has faced similar allegations before.

Last June, three valet parking employees filed a wage theft lawsuit alleging they were paid less than minimum wage at the club. But in January, a judge dismissed the Bohemian Club as a defendant in the case, the Press Democrat reported.

In 2016, the club paid $7 million to settle another class action lawsuit over wage theft, but admitted no wrongdoing in the case.

Founded in 1872, the Bohemian Club claims to be dedicated to the enjoyment of music, literature, theater and the arts. It has long had wealthy power brokers in its ranks: figures such as Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, George HW Bush and Henry Kissinger have been members. Clarence Thomas was recently criticized for visiting the Grove at the invitation of billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow and failing to disclose it.

Although the club is known for its secrecy, it is best known for the rumors that swirl around its annual two-week meeting in July at Bohemian Grove, where activities include wandering naked among the redwood trees and burning a doll in front of a giant owl.

Reach Aviva Bechky: [email protected]