A New York City jury awarded a former Equinox employee $11 million in a racial discrimination case, according to a New York Times report. The luxury fitness company denied the allegations, and said she was fired for showing up late 47 times throughout the ten months working at its gym.
Röbynn Europe was represented by a self-identified "feminist litigation firm" regarding her 10-month tenure as a manager of personal trainers at an Equinox on the Upper East Side from 2018-2019. Europe said she believed Equinox used her lateness as a pretext for termination since other employees were also late.
"Equinox terminated her employment in less than a year because, the company said, she was late 47 times in the course of 10 months. Ms. Europe held a different view of her firing, believing that her lateness was merely a pretext for discrimination, and soon after she filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, arguing that she had been subjected to a hostile work environment and eventually let go because of her race and gender," the New York Times reported.
The fitness company said it does not "tolerate discrimination in any form." Equinox said the jury had been swayed "sympathy and emotion," and had "erroneously" bought into Europe's allegations and "issued extreme, unconscionable damages," according to the Times.
Europe, however, alleged a White employee who was under her made vulgar remarks about Black people and called a Black employee "lazy," another "autistic."
At one point, he asked Europe to help him connect with a Black woman for romantic reasons, which the plaintiff was offended by. Plaintiff Europe claimed the White employee was trying to use her blackness to engender greater potential to score the opportunity with the romantic interest.
These incidences caused psychological distress and worsened Europe's eating disorder, she told the Times.
Europe did not deny that she was late, and Equinox did not deny the comments by the White employee took place.
Europe and Equinox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
