Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is this case about?

The Lawsuit asserts claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) alleging that EQX failed to properly compensate New York personal trainers for certain overtime and non-overtime hours worked; failed to provide New York personal trainers with the wage statements required under New York law; and unlawfully paid New York personal trainers on a biweekly basis.

EQX denies these allegations in their entirety and maintains that it paid all New York personal trainers properly for all hours worked, provided appropriate wage statements, and its biweekly wage payments were lawful. The Parties have entered into this Settlement to avoid further disputes and continued litigation with the attendant uncertainty, and expense. The Court has not made any ruling on the merits of the claims in the Lawsuit, and no party has prevailed in this action.

2. Who is included in the class?

In a class action one or more persons called class representatives, sue not only for themselves, but also on behalf of other individuals with similar claims. These individuals are called Class Members. The Parties have agreed to settle the Lawsuit for a class consisting of all persons employed by EQX as personal trainers in New York between March 25, 2014 and July 31, 2024, which the Court has preliminarily approved.

3. Who are the lawyers for the class, and how will they be paid?

The Court has appointed Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP, Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP, Law Office of Jacob Aronauer, Norris McLaughlin, P.A., and Beattie Padovano, LLC to represent you and the other Class Members (“Class Counsel”). You will not be charged separately for these lawyers. Their fees are being paid from the total settlement fund. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve payment of their litigation expenses and attorneys’ fees of up to one-third of the Settlement Fund. The requested amount would pay Class Counsel for all work that they have performed in this action, including filing the complaint, investigating the facts, engaging in discovery, negotiating, and overseeing the settlement.

4. How can I collect my share of the settlement?

If you did not previously file a consent to join form in this action or you withdrew or were dismissed from this action without prejudice, you must complete and submit a Claim Form so that it is postmarked or otherwise returned to the Claims Administrator by June 12, 2025, in order to receive money from the Settlement. The Claim Form is attached to the Notice. You may submit a claim form online here, by email at info@EQXOTLawsuit.com, by fax or by mail, to:

Katz, et al. v. Equinox Holdings, Inc.
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 26170
Santa Ana, CA 92799
Fax: (714) 917-7455

If you did previously file a consent to join form in this action and are currently an Opt-In Plaintiff, you do not need to submit a Claim Form in order to receive money from the Settlement. Current Opt-In Plaintiffs will receive money from the Settlement unless they opt out as described in section 7 below.

If you do not know whether or not you are currently an Opt-In Plaintiff, please contact Class Counsel at (516) 203-7180, awhite@vkv.law, or the Claims Administrator at (866) 675-2646.

It is your responsibility to retain proof of timely submission of a Claim Form until receipt of your settlement payment.

If you move before the Settlement is fully paid, please give the Claims Administrator or Class Counsel your new address. It is your responsibility alone to provide a forwarding address to the United States Post Office and your current address to the Claims Administrator.

5. How will my share of the settlement fund be calculated and when will I get paid?

If the Court grants final approval of the Settlement, EQX will pay a maximum of $12,000,000.00 in total settlement funds. If the Court also approves the payments set forth below, the following payments and expenses will be deducted from the $12,000,000.00 gross settlement amount prior to distribution of the settlement payments to Class Members:

• Attorneys’ Fees and Costs: Class Counsel will apply to the Court for attorneys’ fees up to a maximum of one-third of the Settlement Fund and recovery of actual litigation expenses and costs up to a maximum of $100,000.


• Service Awards: If the Court approves such payments, the two Named Plaintiffs may receive $15,000 each for services provided in this case, and 30 Opt-In Plaintiffs who appeared for depositions in this case may receive $1,000 each.


• Settlement Administration Costs: The Claims Administrator’s fees shall be paid out of the Settlement Fund and are estimated not to exceed $100,000.00.

The “Net Settlement Fund” (“NSF”) is the portion of the Settlement Fund that will be allocated among all Class Members. The Net Settlement Fund is the maximum settlement amount minus Court-approved service awards, litigation costs, settlement administration costs, and the Court-approved attorneys’ fee. The Net Settlement Fund will be allocated among all Class Members as follows:

• Each Class Member will receive one point for each week in which they performed work for EQX between March 25, 2014, and July 31, 2024.


• Each Class Member will receive a half point for each personal training session performed in excess of 24 that they performed in weeks between March 25, 2014, and July 31, 2024, where the Class Member performed in excess of 24 personal training session.


• The NSF will be allocated to each Class Member on a proportionate basis according to their total number of points.


• No Class Member will be allocated a settlement share that is less than $25.


• Neither Class Counsel nor EQX nor EQX’s Counsel makes any representations concerning tax consequences of the Settlement or your participation in the Settlement as it pertains to your taxes, and you are advised to seek your own personal tax advice prior to acting in response to the Notice.


• The settlement will be distributed in four installments, scheduled to occur approximately 52 days after the Court approves the settlement and then on or around January 29, 2026, January 29, 2027, and January 29, 2028. If your address changes before any of these payments, please contact the Claims Administrator or Class Counsel to ensure that you receive your checks.


• Once settlement checks are issued, they will be valid for 120 days. Class Members may request reissued checks up to 100 days after the last installment settlement checks are issued.


• Any money left over from the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund resulting from checks that were not deposited or claimed by Class Members will be returned to EQX.


• For more information about how individual settlement awards are calculated, please contact Class Counsel at (516) 203-7180, awhite@vkv.law, or the Claims Administrator at (866) 675-2646 or review the Settlement Agreement on the website.

6. What is the legal effect of the settlement?

If you timely submit a Claim Form or are a current Opt-In Plaintiff and do not opt out of the Settlement, upon final approval of the Settlement you, on your own behalf and on behalf of your current, former and future heirs, spouses, executors, administrators, agents, and attorneys, shall forever and fully release EQX, along with its direct and indirect parent corporations, affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, predecessors, insurers, reinsurers, professional employment organizations, representatives, successors and assigns, and their current and former employees, attorneys, officers, directors and agents thereof, both individually and in their business capacities, and their employee benefit plans and programs and their administrators and fiduciaries, both individually and in their business capacities from all federal, New York state and local wage and hour claims pled in the Amended Complaint that accrued during your employment as a personal trainer for EQX from the beginning of the relevant statute of limitations periods through December 3, 2024, including, without limitations, all claims for unpaid overtime wages, unpaid minimum wages, unpaid wages of any kind, premium pay of any kind, frequency of pay violations (i.e., under Section 191 of the New York Labor Law), Wage Theft Prevention Act violations and any related claims for penalties, interest, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses

7. What if I do not want to participate in the settlement?

If you did not previously file a consent to join form in this action or you previously withdrew or were dismissed from the case without prejudice, and you do not file a Claim Form then you will not participate in the Settlement If you do not participate in the Settlement then you will not receive any payment and you will not be bound by the release of claims described in section 6 above.

If you previously filed a consent to join form and are currently an Opt-In Plaintiff in this case, you will be included in the Settlement and be bound by the terms of the Settlement including the release of claims described in section 6 above unless you opt out of the Settlement. To opt out of the Settlement you must do so by mailing a signed letter with a statement indicating your intention to opt-out such as: “I opt out of the Equinox New York wage and hour settlement” postmarked no later than June 12, 2025. You must include your name, address, and telephone number in the letter. If you choose to opt out, send your letter to:

Katz, et al. v. Equinox Holdings, Inc.
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 26170
Santa Ana, CA 92799

If you opt-out of the settlement, you will not be bound by the terms of the Settlement and you will be free to pursue your own claims (if any) against EQX. However, you will not receive any payments pursuant to this Settlement and you will no longer be represented by Class Counsel. If you wish to bring an action on your own, you will need to retain an attorney or represent yourself. By opting-out you will automatically be excluded from the class – there is no discretion that will be exercised by the Court or by counsel as to the exclusion of those who properly request it. (Fed R. Civ.P.23(c)(2)(B)(v).

8. What if I have an objection to the settlement?

If you have not opted out of the Settlement, and if you wish to present objections to the proposed Settlement at the Fairness Hearing, you must first do so in writing. If you object to the settlement and want to appear at the Fairness Hearing, you must say so in your written objection. You are not required to submit an objection. Written objections must be postmarked no later than June 12, 2025 and must be sent to:

Katz, et al. v. Equinox Holdings, Inc.
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 26170
Santa Ana, CA 92799

Written objections must contain your name, address, and telephone number, must be signed by you (either electronically or original signature), and must include reference to the matter of Katz et al. v. Equinox Holdings, Inc., Case No. 20 Civ. 9856. If you opt-out of the settlement, you may not object to the settlement. In addition, if you object to the Settlement Agreement and the Court rejects your objections, you will still be bound by the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

9. When is the fairness hearing?

A hearing before the Honorable Judge Robert W. Lehrburger will be held on June 25, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007 (the “Fairness Hearing”). The purpose of this hearing will be for the Court to determine whether the Settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable and should be approved by the Court. The Court may take into account any comments or objections filed in accordance with the procedures described above.

You are not required to attend the Fairness Hearing. Class Counsel will answer questions the Court may have. However, you may attend at your own expense. If you timely send an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. If you exclude yourself from the settlement by opting out, you may not participate in the Fairness Hearing. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.

10. How can I examine court records?

The Notice does not contain all of the terms of the proposed Settlement or all of the details of these proceedings. For more detailed information, you are advised to refer to the underlying documents and papers on file with the Court, some of which may also be located on the website for this settlement.

Additionally, if you have the questions about the Notice or want additional information, you can contact Class Counsel at (516) 203-7180, awhite@vkv.law or the Claims Administrator at (866) 675-2646 or via email to info@EQXOTLawsuit.com.

NO INQUIRIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE COURT.

11. Will I be retaliated against?

Your decision as to whether or not to submit a Claim Form and/or participate in this Settlement will in no way affect your current or future work with EQX. Consistent with its policies, EQX will not retaliate against individuals who participate in the Settlement.