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Fitness centers in Clark, Montgomery counties underpaid workers, state says

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 2:03 AM Tuesday, March 16, 2010

DAYTON — Physical fitness centers that operated in Montgomery and Clark counties owe employees at those locations a total of more than $31,000 in underpaid minimum wages, overtime wages and legal damages, state authorities alleged in a lawsuit.

The Ohio Department of Commerce filed suit in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court last week against Powerhouse Gym of Centerville LLC, 1553 Lyons Road, Centerville, and City Center Fitness LLC and Powerhouse Gym LLC of Enon LLC, 7607 Dayton-Springfield Road, Enon.

Those employers violated Ohio’s Minimum Fair Wage Standards Act by failing to pay employees, or underpaying them, for work they had done, the state claimed in its lawsuit. The employers closed a business checking account with Huntington National Bank on or about August 2008, making some subsequent paychecks to four Centerville employees and three Enon employees uncashable, the state’s lawsuit alleged. Other alleged violations occurred through most of 2009, the state alleged.

The victims included one employee who managed both the Centerville and Enon gyms, according to the lawsuit.

Ohio officials asked the court to order payment of the money due the employees, plus payment of the state’s court costs.

Canton-based Powerhouse Holdings Ltd. owned the Centerville and Enon gyms, the state contends. City Center Fitness LLC, of Canton, also operated in Clark County, according to the lawsuit. City Center’s relationship to Powerhouse was not specified.

The Palumbo family of Canton, operators of fitness centers there, opened the Centerville and Enon gyms in 2007.

The lawsuit listed Angela Palumbo and lawyer Robert Soles Jr., both of North Canton, as contacts for being served with copies of the lawsuit.

Soles said he received the lawsuit Monday, March 15.

“I can’t really tell you whether we’d even defend against the lawsuit, based on those businesses not being in operation any longer,” Soles said.

The state will wait to see what the court concludes and whether a business bankruptcy is involved, said Cara Keithley, spokeswoman for the Ohio Commerce Department. Debts can be difficult or impossible to collect in a bankruptcy case.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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