A May 22nd filed class-action lawsuit alleges Beachbody has
exploited its California salesforce by misclassifying them as independent contractors rather than as employees.
Through her one hundred and thirty-seven page filed suit, Plaintiff Jessica Lyons seeks to hold Beachbody accountable under California law.
Named defendants in Lyon’s class-action are:
Beachbody (rebranded as Bodi in March 2023)
Carl Daikeler (co-founder and CEO)
Jon Congdon (co-founder)
Kathy Vrabeck (COO)
Michael Neimand (Division President)
Marc Suidan (CFO) and
Helene Klein (CPO)
The aim of Lyon’s class-action is to get Beachbody Coaches (distributors) reclassified as employees.
Today, Beachbody preys upon many of the most vulnerable members of our society.
In exchange for their work promoting the brand on social media, referring new customers, providing customer service, and driving traffic to Beachbody’s website, Beachbody pays them at most a paltry commission.
As it stands under Beachbody’s current compensation model, Lyons argues that Beachbody exploits its Coaches for “million” in “free marketing”.
“Coaches” are purportedly promised the opportunity to build a business; in reality, however, they supply free marketing and sales support that would otherwise cost Beachbody millions.
Lyons (right) argues that while Californian law has a “direct sales exemption”, it was
written 40 years ago, and among other things, is expressly limited only to those salespersons making “in person” sales, such as door-to-door salespeople and home “Tupperware party” hosts.
It does not reach Beachbody’s modern, online business model.
Lyons cites the “significant control” BeachBody exerts on its Coaches as evidence its business model falls outside of the exemption.
Beachbody also exerts significant control over Coaches in their limited, but important role as social media marketers.
To protect its intellectual property, brand image, and legal interests, Beachbody requires Coaches to comply with a byzantine series of rules and regulations.
BehindMLM covered one such example in 2017, wherein Beachbody
banned its Coaches from working “any other network marketing business”
.
Nowhere in those rules, however, does Beachbody require or even suggest that sales be made “in person.”
Rather, Beachbody places restrictions on when and how Coaches may order products and limits the locations in which the products may be sold, effectively preventing any meaningful sales that are “in person.”
The result is that virtually all sales occur on Beachbody’s website, where Beachbody provides the ad copy, sets the prices, and fulfills the order.
Commissions earned by BeachBody Coaches also comes under fire.
The lack of discretion given to its Coaches is evidenced by the fact that few can or do actually earn money under its compensation system.
For instance, in 2021, 25% of Coaches did not receive a single commission check.
Lyons claims that of those who did receive a commission in 2021, “man
🤖 Quick Answer
What is the main allegation in the class-action lawsuit filed against Beachbody?The lawsuit, filed by plaintiff Jessica Lyons in May, alleges that Beachbody has misclassified its California salesforce as independent contractors rather than employees, thereby exploiting them in violation of California labor law. The suit seeks to have Beachbody Coaches reclassified as employees.
Who are the defendants named in Jessica Lyons' class-action lawsuit?
The named defendants include Beachbody (rebranded as Bodi in March 2023), co-founder and CEO Carl Daikeler, co-founder Jon Congdon, COO Kathy Vrabeck, Division President Michael Neimand, CFO Marc Suidan, and Chief People Officer Helene Klein.
**What is the primary objective of the class-action suit?
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