Terminated Steve Nash Fitness World Employees File Class Action Lawsuit

Steve Nash Fitness World has been hit with another class action lawsuit over its termination of more than 1,000 employees in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest Steve Nash Fitness World class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of a proposed Class of about 1,200 employees who were terminated from their employment with the fitness chain on March 24. Their employment contracts were allegedly breached because Steve Nash Fitness World failed to provide notice of termination without cause or pay the terminated employees in lieu of providing notice.

Plaintiff Brenie Matute, a former group fitness instructor, alleges Steve Nash Fitness World had already been planning to conduct a mass layoff of its employees and has used the pandemic as justification.

“I believe this termination is not because of the COVID-19 situation, I’m afraid it was pre-meditated and this is precisely why the case is going forward,” she alleges.

The Steve Nash Fitness World class action lawsuit is seeking individual termination pay in the amount of up to eight weeks’ worth of wages and group termination pay of up to 16 weeks’ worth of wages.

“Termination with absolutely no notification prior to that, no payment upon termination is definitely a surprise for everybody and it has consequences,” Brenie says.

“People have lives, their livelihood was disrupted and their income certainly.”

Global News reports that it has obtained a Notice of Intention to file for insolvency that has been filed by Steve Nash Fitness World. Seven liens against Crunch Fitness in Surrey, SNFW’s other brand, have reportedly been filed in the last two weeks.

“I think the people who run SNFW have some explaining to do about why this happened so quickly,” attorney Robert Finlay of McQuarrie Hunter LLP told Global News about the Steve Nash Fitness World class action lawsuit.

“They were one of the first employers to pull the plug and mass terminate all employees,” Finlay said. “From my perspective, that’s not necessarily a requirement at this point.”

According to Finley, a business should be able to take a look at their cash flow and pursue other options such as a temporary staff layoff or restructuring the business over a period of time.

“I didn’t see any of that happening and from what I’ve heard, from what I’ve seen … it happened very quickly,” Finley said. “It was very sudden and there weren’t really any mitigating steps taken, it was just simply ‘we’re going to shut our doors and terminate everybody.’ I think that’s a concern.”

This new Steve Nash Fitness World class action lawsuit is just the latest legal action to be taken against the company. Last year, plaintiff Sharon Freeman filed a $20 million class action lawsuit accusing the company of failing to properly pay employees for overtime, statutory holidays and contractual wage rates.

Proposed Class Members of the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit include anyone who worked as a non-managerial employee of Steve Nash Fitness World between July 2017 and July 2019.

Retired professional basketball player Steve Nash has also taken legal action against SNFW in an effort to have his name removed from the gym.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimated that about 25 percent of businesses in British Columbia had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as of April 3. Around 40 percent of business owners in the province are concerned that they may have to close their businesses permanently.

It is always important for Canadian workers to know their rights, but it is especially important during the uncertainty that comes along with the COVID-19 pandemic. As employers take steps to adjust to new regulations and restrictions on their business practices, many are issuing layoff notices to their workforce.

Employment lawyers warn that temporary layoffs may not be legal unless there is an implied right to temporarily lay off workers, as may be the case for industries that are seasonal or cyclical in nature. Contractual rights for temporary layoffs may be possible through employment contracts or collective agreements.

Typically, Canadian companies are required to pay severance to workers who have been laid off. There is currently no legal justification to temporarily lay off workers with no pay.

As Canadian businesses face significant losses due to COVID-19, they are forced to make difficult choices. They may issue temporary layoffs to employees because they are unaware of the legal risk, or they may be making a calculated risk to keep their businesses afloat. Because these are unprecedented times, there is no clear guidance about how courts will handle the challenging employment law issues that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated.

Have you or anyone you know been terminated from their job because of the COVID-19 pandemic? Tell us your story in the comment section below! 

Brenie is represented by Colin Gusikoski.

The Steve Nash Fitness World Class Action Lawsuit is Brenie Matute, et al., v. SNFW Fitness B.C. Ltd., Case No. VLC-S-S-203844, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada. 

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