California Beauty School Labor Lawsuit Could Represent Thousands

Los Angeles, CAAn interesting situation is percolating alongside a lawsuit alleging a beauty school owned by cosmetic giant Estée Lauder Inc. (Estée Lauder) is treating trainees as unpaid employees, a violation of California Labor Law. A wrinkle currently at play is the recent decision by a California judge that an arbitrator must first decide if it’s appropriate for a proposed class-action lawsuit to proceed before employees who did not sign arbitration agreements have the opportunity to try their claims.

The original California labor lawsuit was filed by three cosmetology students enrolled at a cosmetology school run by Aveda Corp. The plaintiffs claim that Aveda uses it students under the guise of hands-on training to provide full hair and beauty services to paying clients. As such Aveda, and parent company Estée Lauder, are treating students as unpaid workers.

In their response to the lawsuit, Estée Lauder and Aveda filed a motion to compel arbitration of the claims of two of the three named plaintiffs in the proposed class action given that the two had previously signed arbitration agreements with Estée Lauder and Aveda. However, at a hearing earlier this month Judge Jane L. Johnson of the Los Angeles Superior Court noted that arbitration agreements left it up to the arbitrator to decide whether or not plaintiffs would be able to proceed with class arbitration or individual efforts.

The lead plaintiff, Jazlyn Jennings, had not signed an arbitration agreement with the companies, and thus her claims would not be compelled for arbitration.

In her original lawsuit filed in April of last year, Jennings alleged that she trained at the Aveda Institute Los Angeles from April 2011 through June 2012. Jennings maintained during that time she would regularly provide services such as haircuts and styling services, manicures, removal of makeup, and other beauty services to customers without seeing any compensation for her efforts.

Jennings also asserts the beauty school administration failed to properly supervise students with just four supervisors looking after some 40 students working on the salon floor at any given time. It is alleged that the lack of supervision is a violation of California labor employment law.

Given the alleged lack of supervision and the requirement to undertake full beauty treatments for customers, it is alleged Aveda treated its students as employees, rather than apprentices. Given also that the students were not compensated for their services, a violation of California and labor law is alleged.

The proposed lawsuit has significant implications, in that a class size of current and former students could easily number into the thousands.

Along with the Aveda Institute Los Angeles, Jennings also names the company’s San Francisco-based school, the Cinta Aveda Institute Inc., and its Southeast institute operator, Beauty Basics Inc., as co-defendants in the suit.

The California labor lawsuit is Jazlyn Jennings et al. v. Estée Lauder Inc. et al., case number BC543276, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.