Megan Klebanoff, a former employee of a California-based psychological corporation, has filed a lawsuit alleging numerous labor law violations by her employer. The complaint was submitted on April 22, 2025, in the Superior Court of California, County of Ventura, against The Wilshire Counseling Center and its owner Katrina Wood.
Klebanoff's legal action outlines several grievances against The Wilshire Counseling Center, which operates as Wilshire Valley Therapy Center. She accuses the defendants of failing to pay all wages due, including overtime wages and meal period premiums. According to the complaint, Klebanoff was employed as an Associate Therapist from January 18 to April 19, 2025. During this time, she claims that she was subjected to unlawful wage practices such as being required to work without compensation for tasks like responding to emails and attending mandatory meetings outside regular hours. "Defendants implemented policies limiting associates to only two paid late cancellations per week," states the complaint, effectively requiring her to work additional hours without pay.
Klebanoff further alleges that she was denied legally mandated rest and meal breaks due to back-to-back client scheduling. On specific occasions like March 1 and March 5, 2025, she reportedly worked consecutive hours without any breaks or compensation for additional tasks performed outside scheduled sessions. Moreover, a new policy introduced on March 16 allegedly prevented her from recording her own hours accurately, leading to discrepancies in recorded work time.
The plaintiff also contends that the defendants failed to reimburse necessary business expenses incurred during her employment. She claims that she had to use personal equipment for work purposes without receiving any reimbursement. Additionally, Klebanoff asserts that The Wilshire Counseling Center engaged in unfair business practices under California's Business and Professions Code by systematically denying employees their rightful wages and benefits.
In response to these alleged violations, Klebanoff seeks various forms of relief from the court. She demands compensatory damages for unpaid wages and overtime compensation according to proof at trial. Furthermore, she requests statutory penalties for waiting time violations and failure to provide accurate wage statements. Klebanoff also seeks restitution for benefits acquired through unfair business practices and reimbursement for unreimbursed business expenses.
Representing Megan Klebanoff are attorneys Joshua I. White and Kyle DeCamp from Laurel Employment Law based in Santa Monica, California. The case is presided over by Judge K. Biaker under Case No.: 2025 CLWIOED4 2645 in the Superior Court of California.