New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced last week that LA Weight Loss Centers Inc. reached a settlement to pay $275,000 in refunds to thousands of New York state customers who paid for but never received services after LA Weight Loss closed its doors in January 2008.

Read more here: LA Weight Loss to Pay Refunds to New York Members

Also Read:  LA WEIGHT LOSS, PURE WEIGHT LOSS

As the clock ticks down on the Bush administration’s Reign of Error, government agencies are under pressure to put points on the board before the big buzzer sounds.  It seems the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  (EEOC) has devised a brilliant ploy for racking up last minute points:  Win huge, uncollectable judgements against extinct companies on behalf of imaginary employees.

In case you’re interested in seeing your hard-earned tax dollars at work, but don’t have time to read the latest EEOC press release (“LA WEIGHT LOSS SETTLES NATIONWIDE SEX DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT WITH EEOC”), here’s a summary:

• The EEOC has won $20 million and other “significant relief” on behalf of workers who were never hired by a company that has “ceased operations” and whose name is different, anyway.
• Thanks to this landmark victory by the EEOC, the male employees who were never hired will be entitled to $16 million in back pay for work they never performed, and will now be offered positions in the company that no longer exists.
• The no-nonsense EEOC requires that from now on the company that no longer exists must apply “numerical benchmarks” to ensure that the number of men and women who are not-hired and not-promoted to the nonexistent positions within its extinct departments is fair and equitable.
• To ensure that this nonexistent company does not discriminate against future nonexistent employees, the EEOC is requiring it to “to conduct quarterly reviews to assess attainment of its hiring goals” and, at the EEOC’s option, “to employ an outside expert to examine the hiring process to assist in achieving any unmet hiring goals.”

Congratulations to Creditor 100,001!

The EEOC has declared victory against Pure Weight Loss, which ceased operation of its 400 weight loss centers and closed its Horsham, PA headquarters in January, 2008.  The closing of Pure Weight Loss (formerly LA Weight Loss) left thousands of customers cheated out of prepaid services and left employees nationwide jobless.  With more than 100,000 creditors and liabilities at $10 million to $50 million, Pure Weight Loss filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Shortly thereafter, the Attorney General of PA sued for fraud and moved to seize both corporate and personal assets of the company and its founder, Vahan Karian.

According to the EEOC, Pure Weight Loss discriminated against male applicants, having denied them the same opportunity to receive pre-Christmas pink slips and bounced paychecks like their female cohorts.  In its battle against employment injustice, the EEOC is not fazed by a small obstacle such as the non-existence of the employer.

A Fictional Victory for Fictional Times?  Or a Nail in the LAWL Coffin?

So, is the EEOC declaring a fictional victory for these fictional times, or is their accomplishment, in actuality, much greater than that?  Did the EEOC lawsuit actually prompt the closure of Pure Weight Loss outlets earlier this year?  Did they put the final nail in a coffin perhaps worth closing for good?

The EEOC originally sued L.A. Weight Loss Centers, Inc. (LAWL) in February 2002 under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act,  alleging that the company “engaged in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against men in its recruiting, hiring, and assignment of employees.”  On September 6, 2007, an EEOC press release announced “A federal court has ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may proceed to trial with its class sex discrimination lawsuit against L.A. Weight Loss Centers, Inc. (LAWL) on behalf of qualified male applicants nationwide.”

The judge’s decisive rejection of LAWL’s motions to dismiss the case indicated that the EEOC case, which included “discriminatory admissions by various high-level LAWL officials,” was strong.

Three months later, Pure Weight Loss announced it was closing all 400 centers nationwide and laying off all employees, male and female.

And that, dear readers, is how the EEOC helped Pure Weight Loss and its founder, Vahan Karian, provide equal opportunity to all, male and female.

The End

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Just about a year ago, a company named Pure Weight Loss (formerly known as LA Weight Loss) announced that it would be closing all 400 of its weight loss centers nationwide on January 4, 2008.  The employees of its corporate office and hundreds of centers rang in the new year unemployed, many with bounced paychecks as a bonus and the good feeling one gets knowing that the members they signed up would be getting stiffed out of $500,000 of prepaid products and services.

Pure Weight Loss  declared bankruptcy (see Pure Weight Loss Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Protection), claiming it had In a court document, the company said it had more than 100,000 creditors. It estimated its assets at $1 million to $10 million and its liabilities at $10 million to $50 million.  It was subsequently sued (along with its founder, Vahan Karian) by the Attorney General of PA for fraud (see Pure Weight Loss Lawsuit Filed by PA Attorney General).

Now, a year later, the EEOC has declared victory on behalf of the male applicants who were deprived of the Pure Weight Loss Employment Experience.

Below, I have posted the December 2, 2008 EEOC press release in its entirety.  I will write my commentary on this historic employment coup separately, when I am finally sure that I am neither dreaming this nor have been slipped some sort of hallucinogen (by myself or others).  This is just a little too surreal:

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 2, 2008

CONTACT: Jacqueline H. McNair Regional Attorney
(215) 440-2666/2670
TTY: (215) 440-2610

Tracy Hudson Spicer
Supervisory Trial Attorney
(202) 419-0711

M. Patricia Tanner
Program Analyst
(410) 209-2721
LA WEIGHT LOSS SETTLES NATIONWIDE SEX DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT WITH EEOC

Company Refused to Hire Men into Weight Loss Counselor and Other Jobs, Agency Alleged

BALTIMORE – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has resolved its pattern or practice sex discrimination lawsuit against LA Weight Loss Centers, Inc., (renamed Pure Weight Loss, Inc., in early 2007), for $20 million and other significant relief.

According to the EEOC’s suit (WDQ-02-CV-648), filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Pure Weight Loss had a nationwide policy of not hiring qualified males into the positions of counselor/sales, medical assistants, assistant managers, center managers, area supervisors, trainers, and other field positions. Former Area Trainer Kathy Koch was disciplined and fired in retaliation for complaining about the company’s policy of not hiring men and for interviewing male candidates, the EEOC also alleged.

Pure Weight Loss discontinued its business operations in January 2008 and filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on January 11, 2008, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Case No. 08-10315-JKF). The bankruptcy trustee has agreed to the terms of the consent decree, which was approved by the bankruptcy court.

Refusing to hire qualified applicants because of their gender, maintaining sex-specific job classifications, and retaliating against employees who protest unlawful discriminatory practices violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pursuant to the consent decree and as approved by the bankruptcy trustee, the EEOC will have a claim in bankruptcy court of $20 million — $16,842,656 in back pay and $3,157,344 in punitive damages — payable to men whom the EEOC determined were subjected to hiring discrimination because of their sex during the period January 1, 1997, through the entry of the decree. The portion of the settlement, if any, that the EEOC will be able to obtain through its pending bankruptcy court claim is presently unknown. Koch settled with Pure Weight Loss in November 2005.

Along with the monetary relief to the class members, the 10-year consent decree provides for significant injunctive relief. The decree applies to all Pure Weight Loss centers or to any successor resuming business operations. The decree:

• Prohibits Pure Weight Loss from discriminating against job applicants or employees because of sex and retaliating against any of its employees or applicants;

• Requires Pure Weight Loss to use an electronic applicant tracking system for each person hired and for any person who submits an application, and to provide specific information on applicants by sex and other categories defined by the EEOC; and

• Mandates that Pure Weight Loss create a discrimination complaint procedure, post its commitment to equal opportunity and a diverse workforce, and report compliance to the EEOC.

Additionally, the consent decree requires hiring of rejected male applicants and includes numerical benchmarks for hiring and/or promoting men to the positions from which they had been previously excluded; requires Pure Weight Loss to conduct quarterly reviews to assess attainment of its hiring goals; and, at the EEOC’s option, requires Pure Weight Loss to employ an outside expert to examine the hiring process to assist in achieving any unmet hiring goals.

“We brought this lawsuit to advance the legal right to a workplace free of sex discrimination and to remind employers that they must make employment decisions based on the applicant’s ability to perform the duties of the job,” said EEOC Philadelphia Regional Attorney Jacqueline McNair, whose jurisdiction includes Maryland.

“EEOC will strongly pursue employers who choose to flagrantly disregard federal law by engaging in systemic gender discrimination,” said EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Tracy Hudson Spicer. Added EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Ronald L. Phillips, “The EEOC’s systemic initiative was undertaken to combat company-wide discriminatory employment practices like this one.”

The EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office litigation team included EEOC attorneys Tracy Hudson Spicer, Ronald L. Phillips, Corbett Anderson and Cecile Quinlan. Applying the Commission’s national law firm model, the Baltimore team was also assisted in this case by attorneys from EEOC’s New York, Boston, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Dallas, and Chicago offices.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

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(Franchise Pick) FOR THE FULL LIST OF LA WEIGHT LOSS STORE CLOSINGS (RUMORS), VISIT DEAR VAHAN. Three consistent comments we get about LA Weight Loss: 1) My LA Weight Loss center closed/is closing, 2) They owe me a refund, and 3) I’m mad because the program was working.

Why is it that customers are willing to paying thousands of dollars, yet centers are closing. Got me. But I do know this: If you’re an LA Weight Loss customer, prepay at your own risk.

July 22, 2008 at 6:08 PM Bella stated:

La Weight Loss is closing in Evansville,vincennes, and Terra Haute….Get products they will be working m,w,f only next 2 wks….- bella

Susan added Jul 23, 2008 at 6:56 pm:

I live in Colorado and from what I have been told all the centers in the state will be closed by the end of August I signed up for something called LA to go where supposedly someone from corporate will call me 3 times a week and I can pay for product and they will ship it to me free of charge.. I am beginning to wonder about that after reading all the posts. This is a real bummer as it was really working for me. - susan

WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?

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Unhappy Franchisee: Franchising rumors, rants, controversies, issues, complaints & insider information you’re not supposed to know.

Unbiased franchise information, franchise interviews and detailed, searchable information on 400 franchise and business opportunities.

Franchisees, customers & experts vote for their favorite new franchises at Top New Franchise: Who’s hot. Who’s not.

Warning to any current or future LA Weight Loss customers considering prepaying for products or services: rumors abound that certain LA Weight Loss Centers may be closing in the near future. If that happens, you may have a hard time getting a refund or the products you are owed.

According to the LA Weight Loss complaint site, numerous centers are believed to be closing in the near future:

LA WEIGHT LOSS CLOSING LIST

Says KH Poser:

I was an Area Manager for LAWL for the last 2 years. The handwriting is on the wall. …The laweightloss.com website reports that the company has 450 centers open, but it is a lot less than that. They have been closing 20-30 units now for the last several months. Many of the franchise centers were taken back over by corporate in an effort to re-invigorate the brand, but they could not make it work. Many of the centers are doing as little as $2000 a week in sales. When sales are that low, it makes it impossible to advertise…

(FranchisePick.Com)  Also read:  HOW MUCH DOES PURE WEIGHT LOSS OWE YOU?,

PURE WEIGHT LOSS CUSTOMERS: SHARE NEWS & OPINIONS HERE,

Pure Weight Loss to Close All 400 Locations

There’s a new website called Dear Vahan that invites both employee and member victims of Pure Weight Loss and/or LA Weight Loss to share a message to be shared with that company’s CEO Vahan Karian (aka Vahan Karabajakian).

This letter to Vahan Karian from a loyal employee named Sandra Ritter shows the effect that an uncaring company can have on the lives of those who built it:

Dear Vahan,
I worked for LAWL / Pure for 4 years and accepted each and every position / transfer that was offered to me. Why? I loved my job, I loved my clients and it was a wonderful feeling to know that I personally touched so many lives in a very positive way. My greatest desire was to retire from LAWL / Pure.

Feel free to check your records and you will see that not only did I bring an “enormous income” into your pockets, but I continued to build your business using my integrity, compassion and understanding for all clients and staff members.

In September of 2007, once again I accepted another promotion as Regional Asst. in the VA market. At the time of my transfer, I had been living with my elderly parents and assisted them in their daily routines. This was a huge decision for me as not only was I leaving my parents, but my children and grandchildren as well. My belief in the company was so strong that I left them behind hoping to be able to better my life and consequently their lives also. Needless to say my entire life changed because I believed in the company. I secured a 6 month lease in VA, had to purchase another vehicle due to all of the traveling involved throughout the state and I can’t forget the moving expenses I incurred.

As this market was reaching an all time high (once again, records are proof), it became my responsibility to begin closing centers. I personally phoned each and every client, moved inventory, records, etc. December 12, 2007 along with many other employees, I got the boot, however, I continued to help my managers, employees and clients get through this transition as smoothly as possible…off the clock.

I too, did not receive return calls from corp. nor did I receive a return call from you.
I was stuck in VA. During these 3 months, I was reimbursed 1/4 of my out of pocket expenses and am still due in excess of $4400. I am residing in another state and still paying monthly rent for the apartment in VA, not to mention more moving expenses.

My biggest regret is that I did such a good job for you and the company. I will most definitely continue to battle for what is mine. I hope at some point in time your conscience will destroy your greed and do what is only right and return what was not yours to each and every one of us “who believed”.

In closing, God Bless you and your family.

Read more or post your own at Dear Karian website, located at http://weightloss.franbest.com.

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The Pure Weight Loss and LA Weight Loss complaints site reports rumors of LA Weight Loss centers closing:

They are closing more LA Weight Loss Centers which are managed by the LA Weight Loss Franchise Companies Corporate office (Under the Name of LATO- or LA Take Over).

By July 11th, the following centers will be closing in Kentucky:

*Elizabethtown, KY *Louisville/Hurstbourne, KY
*Springhurst, KY

They are also planning closings in other areas of the country, including:
*Butte, NE *Lincoln, NE *Bozeman, MT

Beware! If products are owed to you, get into the center immediately and request refunds!

Rita

Jane Periotti commented on an LA Weight Loss post here:

They are also closing centers in Reno Nevada and Sparks Nevada….They shut down 8 LA Weight Loss Centers in Las Vegas earlier this year. So this is 10 in this state that have folded without refunding money to clients.

Bella said:

Jackson Tn is closing

Mary added:

Conyers, GA

Alpharetta, GA

Stone Mountain, GA

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW.

(FranchisePick.Com) IS LA WEIGHT LOSS IN TROUBLE?

Late last year, rumors started appearing on FranchisePick.com a month or two before Pure Weight Loss (formerly LA Weight Loss) suddenly announced it was closing all 400 weight loss facilities nationwide. In fact, one reader posted about the California closings before it hit the news. Shocked Pure Weight Loss employees found themselves suddenly out of work. Thousands of members tried in vain to recover the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars in prepaid services and products they had entrusted to the company. We’ve learned to listen to the rumors. Not always believe, but at least listen.

LA weight Loss and Pure weight Loss started off as the same company and continued to use the same same system. However, the franchise company currently operating as LA Weight Loss had disassociated itself from the company that became Pure Weight Loss well before it imploded. However, LA Weight Loss has had its own share of problems, and rumors that sound eerily similar to those preceding the fall of Pure Weight Loss seem to be escalating. What do you think?

June 11, 2008, DD wrote:

Watch for the ‘Closing’ signs of all LA Weight loss centers. First they start cutting back store hours, let go of some employee’s, then they begin to have a difficult time getting all their product. The biggest clue is that the local advertising slows way down. In my area I saw advertisements daily on many T.V. stations and heard them constantly on the radio. They rarely advertise now and they are quoting no prices. I believe, after being a former employee, that they are now near the end. They are doing all they can to get ANY business at this point in order to hang on until the end. This has been the pattern in other parts of the county. GET OUT NOW!!!!

June 10, 2008, Kim wrote:

I paid A LOT for my LA WEIGHT LOSS MEMBERSHIP and had a few months left. I had some stressors and stopped going for a few months, then decided to get jump started now that summer is here. Went to the store, and was shocked to see there was no sign, the store was empty, no sign on the door, and then I called and the phone rang and there was not even a message! And to think that last week I received a card in the mail to “Come back to LA for free”! I know the stores in Illinois closed, and I am over the border in Wisconsin. Right before I left, the store hours changed twice, and corporate was in there. I had a bad feeling about it and that also made me stop going. I am mad,feel like I got taken for a ride, and wonder how many may have just joined and got ripped off! These people need to be sued!

Apr 3, 2008, Laura House wrote:

Buzz is that the franchise centers are in just as much trouble as PURE/Corporate LAWL was. One of the largest franchisees, Barry Goodman, out of Brentwood, TN has shut down all of his south Florida centers with more on the way. At one time, Goodman owned over 100 LA Weight Loss Franchise Centers and was one of LAWL Franchise Companies biggest franchisees.

Also reported on other sites is that centers in Austin, TX, Corpus Christy, TX, and Victoria,TX are closing in additon to centers across the Tennessee area.

As a consumer or a potential franchisee– I would stay clear of this company. Looks like they are on their last legs.

ARE YOU AN LA WEIGHT LOSS FRANCHISE OWNER, EMPLOYEE OR CUSTOMER? WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

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(FranchisePick.Com)  For anyone who lost money, time and patience dealing with Pure Weight Loss (formerly LA Weight Loss, here’s one for the “I thought I had it bad” file.  Pure Weight Loss employee “Angie” left this sad tale as a comment on a recent post:

I was an employee of Pure Weight Loss. This is my story…I was hired in October for a position in the Central Illinois market. I was from St. Louis. My family (husband and daughter) traveled the 150+ miles for the interview and was promised a career that would be very lucrative while helping people achieve their weight loss goals.

The Regional Director interviewed me and suggested I accept a position as Center Manager at a location some 60 miles further from where I interviewed. My family and I agreed and quickly went searching for a rental home on craigslist. Long story short, with no assistance from Pure Weight Loss, we spent about $2,000 on the move. I was in the position for 6 weeks, all the while discussing with my managers that I am concerned that the income I was receiving was not what was promised. They assured me, come January everything would be gravy.

We got the news that our center was closing on December 15. That morning I had signed up a woman who had been with us previously but didn’t come in to center, didn’t follow plan and didn’t meet with any success. The previous day my Regional Manager had called her and convinced her that there was no better time than now (2 weeks before the holidays) than for her to re-commit herself. We completed her paperwork when I called my area manager to share the success. In her first sentence she said, “Did you get her to take her product home?” I responded, “No, she’ll be back in 2 days.” She said, “Oh honey, we have to talk.” That’s when she informed me that we would be closing nationwide as of January 4, 2008.

We had to liquidate any product we could and call all 160 active clients and any inactive clients to inform them. A task left to me, a new manager and a 22 year old part time employee. Devastating. This is still devastating me and my family. It has financially broke us. We muddled through the remainder of our 6 month lease and had to move back to St. Louis for lack of work. I’m looking for a class action lawsuit. The clients and employees, including myself, are owed.

Did I mention my last paycheck bounced? The account was already closed…. Did you all get your notification that they filed bankruptcy? Jerks!

Other recent posts:

> PURE WEIGHT LOSS INFORMATION CENTER

Pure Weight Loss / LA Weight Loss Rumors, Complaints

L.A. Weight Loss Center Closings, Cutbacks & Rumors

Did HONESTY Kill Pure Weight Loss? or LA Weight Loss: The Movie

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

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Franchisees, customers & experts vote for their favorite new franchises at Top New Franchise: Who’s hot. Who’s not.

(FranchisePick.com) Pure Weight Loss Adds Insult to Injury Part 1: Pure Weight Loss Members, out thousands of dollars from the company’s abrupt closure, have their refund claim forms returned as undeliverable. Add lost time, postage costs, aggravation.

Pure Weight Loss Adds Insult to Injury Part 2: Pure Weight Loss offers stranded members discounts to an program… a program not available in their area.

Announcing Pure Weight Loss Adds Insult to Injury Part 3: Bounced refund checks… and NSF bank charges.

On HOW MUCH DOES PURE WEIGHT LOSS OWE YOU? FranchisePick.Com contributor and ex-Pure Weight Loss (LA Weight Loss) member Kim Matunis writes:

I got a refund check for $84 (they owed me over $1000) and it bounced!! THe bank said the account it is written on was closed in December 2007. I am filed with the PA Attn. General’s office….hope we get somewhere.

I have no clue how much they owe exactly, bought extra weeks on sales, paid some regular weeks, they took my copy of my contract when I applied for the refund, so I do not even have that. Trying to get receipts and credit card statements organized.

GOd help us all

RECENT PURE WEIGHT LOSS POSTS:
February 25th, 2008 Did HONESTY Kill Pure Weight Loss? or LA Weight Loss: The Movie
February 22nd, 2008 Pure Weight Loss Meeting of Creditors Set for March 14
February 20th, 2008 Pure Weight Loss Employees Also to Suffering Losses
February 3rd, 2008 IS PURE WEIGHT LOSS VIOLATING HIPAA PRIVACY LAWS? (Part 2)
February 3rd, 2008 IS PURE WEIGHT LOSS VIOLATING HIPAA PRIVACY LAWS? (Part 1)
January 31st, 2008 Pure Weight Loss Adds Insult to Injury Part 2

WHAT DO YOU THINK? YOUR COMMENTS AND INSIGHTS ARE APPRECIATED.

PHOTO CREDIT: Marchivist.   Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Visit FRANBEST: Unbiased franchise information, franchise interviews and detailed, searchable information on 400 franchise and and business opportunities.

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