Shadowy Club recently affiliated with Clarence Thomas is being sued in California for multiple labor violations

Last updated on July 7th, 2023 at 05:34 am

A class action lawsuit brought by servers against The Bohemian Club, an exclusive club for men in California that includes former presidents, alleges labor violations. 

The exclusive club occasionally makes headlines, mostly because of its connections to powerful and affluent men. The club was most recently mentioned in a ProPublica article about Justice Clarence Thomas’ relationship with Harlan Crow.

Thomas, who enjoyed opulent getaways with the GOP megadonor and billionaire real estate mogul, went with him to Bohemian Grove, a secretive woodland retreat where the club frequently holds events like a 14-day summer camp.

On June 5, former valets from Monastery Camp in Monte Rio, California, one of the “most prestigious and well-known camps at Bohemian Grove,” filed a complaint.

The valets, who looked after affluent campers, contend in the complaint that employees were required to work more than 15 hours per day without breaks or meal periods while only being paid for 8 hours per day. According to the lawsuit, the club’s management “continually worked together to come up with methods to avoid paying payroll taxes and overtime.”

The Bohemian Club’s treasurer, William Dawson, is identified in the lawsuit as having asked staff members directly to “falsify payroll records.” Additionally, it asserts that valets were instructed to conceal themselves when the proprietor of the payroll business Pomella LLC, another defendant in the lawsuit, arrived to inspect the Grove. According to the lawsuit, the payroll provider was also aware of the fake timesheets.

The lawsuit also asserts that captains who have committed similar labor violations are in charge of the valets working at the roughly 100 other camps plaintiffs claim are connected to the club. Bohemian Club may attempt to distance itself from these camps while the lawsuit is pending, according to the complaint, but it also claims that these affiliate camps are a joint venture of the main club.

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The members are suing for damages of up to $1.5 million.

Sam Singer, the club’s spokesperson, said in a statement to the Press Democrat that the organization “has always valued and respected its employees, and that includes our commitment to full compliance with all applicable wage and hour laws and regulations.”

Singer told the Press Democrat, “We think these three people know very well that they did not work for the Club and that this lawsuit is a clear attempt to drag the Club into their situation.” The Club will fight hard to defend itself in this case, just like it would in any other frivolous case.

The Bohemian Club has hosted the summer camp for over 150 years and claims to be a club of gentlemen. 

Conspiracy theorists, left-leaning protestors, and curious onlookers have taken an interest in the club full of elite men who are frequently secretive about their members and events. The InfoWars host Alex Jones managed to sneak into the Bohemian Grove summer camp and film a strange ritual that involved robed members burning a coffin effigy called “Care” in front of a 40-foot owl statue, though there is still much to learn about the club.

Previous investigative reports claim that the Grove also hosts a variety of social events, including plays and comedy shows where men play women. The club is renowned for hosting “Lakeside Talks,” where participants—often members of the political elite—discuss policy ideas.

A request for comment from Insider was not immediately met by the Bohemian Club or a plaintiffs’ attorney.