On February 10, 2016, two former patient care consultants for Sono Bello filed a proposed collective action lawsuit in Washington federal court seeking overtime wages. Sono Bello is a medical-cosmetic facility that specializes in body countering and facial rejuvenation, offering services such as laser-assisted liposuction, cellulite reduction, wrinkle reduction, skin tightening, and facelift procedures. It operates 30 centers in 19 states throughout the country.
The lawsuit alleges that Sono Bello misclassified its sales consultants (referred to as “Patient Care Consultants”) as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements, and as a result, failed to pay them overtime wages when they worked more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. The lawsuit seeks to recover unpaid wages, plus liquidated (double) damages. This case is entitled, Bazzell and Ailoto v. Body Contour Centers, LLC d/b/a Sono Bello, Court File No. 2:16-cv-00202 (Western District of Washington).
Plaintiff’s attorney Brittany Bachman Skemp stated, “Sono Bello’s patient care consultants are scheduled to work long-hour days, and consistently work well over 40 hours in a week. By misclassifying their consultants as exempt employees, Sono Bello does not pay its consultants overtime pay we believe they are owed. Yet despite working these long hours, Sono Bello’s consultants do not receive any overtime pay. Through this lawsuit, we seek to get them that overtime pay provided by law.”
The plaintiffs in the case are represented by Paul J. Lukas and Brittany Bachman Skemp, from Nichols Kaster, PLLP, which has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Additional information regarding the lawsuit can be found here or by calling Nichols Kaster, PLLP at (877) 344-4628.
