The not-so-secret secret campout experience for ultra-rich dudes, The Bohemian Grove, is being sued by some of its valets again. A campout for people like fascist dictator art and Supreme Court Justice collector Harlan Crow to take his "dear friend" Clarence Thomas, it seems reasonable, would mistreat their manservants… just like back in the good ol' days.
You would think a century-old private club for men with lavish "secret" campouts in Sonoma County would let their gentleman's gentlemen take a leak. Still, three valets have filed a class action suit alleging things like bathroom breaks were not permitted.
During the Summer Encampment that year, the suit alleges that the three named employees worked "16+ hours per day for the duration of the 14-day camp," though all timecards showed eight hours of work a day. Some overtime was allegedly paid "under-the-table" but was not commensurate with the hours worked. "Employees were intimidated or coerced into waiving meal periods," the suit alleges.
In another allegation, the complaint says a worker who was receiving "100% of his pay under-the-table" was told to "hide" from a woman who worked for a company hired to handle payroll when she made a surprise visit to the camp.
The camp's operations are so secretive the plaintiffs in the case don't yet know exactly whom they are accusing, instead referring to some of the defendants as John Doe. "Does 1 through 10, inclusive, are currently unknown to Plaintiffs, who therefore sue Defendants by such fictitious names," the complaint reads, before stating that the lawsuit will be amended when the defendants' names are known.
