A former employee has filed a comprehensive lawsuit against his previous employer, alleging a series of labor law violations. The complaint was filed by Eric Eltringham in the Ventura Superior Court on August 29, 2024, targeting Tralom Holdco, Inc., doing business as "The Ranch," and its owner Alex Glasscock.
Eric Eltringham claims that during his employment with The Ranch, he was misclassified as an independent contractor despite working under conditions that should have classified him as an employee. Hired initially in February 2015 as a massage therapist, Eltringham alleges he was kept "on-call," required to wear a uniform, and had no control over his work schedule. He contends that he was not provided with any meal or rest breaks even though he worked back-to-back five-hour shifts. His compensation started at $40 per massage and increased incrementally over time but did not include overtime pay or reimbursement for work-related expenses such as using his personal cellphone.
Eltringham's lawsuit outlines numerous instances where he believes The Ranch violated California labor laws. For example, in June 2018, after being asked to perform additional administrative tasks like filling cream cups and readying rooms, he was told to bill $40 per hour for this support work. However, when operations were suspended due to the Woosley Fire later that year, Eltringham’s unemployment claims were denied because of his classification as an independent contractor.
The situation worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic when The Ranch closed temporarily in March 2020. Upon reopening in July 2020, Eltringham returned to work under reduced hours and continued facing issues related to his classification and compensation. Despite being promised reclassification as an employee towards the end of 2019, The Ranch reverted to treating him and other massage therapists as independent contractors shortly thereafter.
In November 2021, Eltringham participated in an investigation by the Employment Development Department (EDD) into potential misclassification of employees at The Ranch. Following this investigation, Eltringham claims he faced retaliation from Glasscock and other management personnel. This included verbal harassment and threats when he refused to sign new independent contractor agreements sent out in December 2022.
Eltringham's complaint details various legal violations including failure to provide meal periods (Cal. Labor Code §§ 226.7, 512), rest periods (Cal. Labor Code §§ 226.7, 516), minimum wage violations (Cal. Labor Code §§ 1194, 1197), unpaid overtime wages (Cal. Labor Code §§ 510), inaccurate wage statements (Cal. Labor Code § 226(a)), unpaid business-related expenses (Cal. Labor Code § 2802), retaliation (Cal. Labor Code §1102.5), and unfair business practices (Cal. Business & Professions Code §17200).
Eltringham is seeking compensatory damages for lost wages and benefits along with punitive damages for emotional distress caused by the alleged harassment and retaliation from The Ranch’s management team. He also requests reimbursement for all business-related expenses incurred during his employment along with attorney fees and costs associated with bringing this action forward.
Representing Eltringham are attorneys Jonathan Haderlein and Krikor Kouyoumdjian from Haderlein & Kouyoumdjian LLP based in Los Angeles.