Peloton lawsuit: frequency of pay, religious discrimination

2020 hasn’t been all good news for Peloton. In late November, a new lawsuit was filed against them for violation of New York labor laws and religious discrimination. Read on for the latest details of the new Peloton lawsuit.

We’ve been tracking this lawsuit since it was filed, but the details are not just now coming out in public.

In the lawsuit, the employee is making two claims against the company:

• Violation of New York Labor laws, related to the frequency of pay.
• Religious Discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Both the company and Sorin have agreed to an extension until January 29, 2021, to allow Peloton time to respond. It’s always possible that a settlement could be in the works.

The employee worked as a field specialist across different warehouses in New York and delivered Peloton Bikes and Treads to customers’ homes. The employee appears to be classified as a “manual worker,” and under New York Labor laws, there are specific rules related to pay frequency.

a. Manual worker — (i) A manual worker shall be paid weekly and not later than seven calendar days after the end of the week in which the wages are earned;  provided however that a manual worker employed by an employer authorized by the commissioner pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph or by a non-profitmaking organization shall be paid in accordance with the agreed terms of employment, but not less frequently than semi-monthly.

The second claim of the lawsuit is that the employee believes they were discriminated against due to their Jewish religion and observing the Sabbath on Saturday. After requesting that day off, the plaintiff was notified that Peloton “had no policy or procedure with respect to accommodating the religious beliefs of its employees.” Since there was no policy in place, the lawsuit states Peloton denied their request to not work on the Sabbath. The plaintiff was reduced to part-time status in May of 2020, so they claimed it was due to their religious beliefs.

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