According to The San Francisco Gate, three valets, who have worked for the Bohemian Club since its inception, have accused the secretive all-male club of illegal labor practices.
According to the outlet, the Bohemian Club is a secretive group that meets in secret to perform rituals involving human effigies as well as the burning of an enormous sacrificial bird. Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Bohemian Club as an “elite, invitation-only club founded by male artists, writers and actors who were interested in art and culture and had money.”
Recently, it was reported that Justice Clarence Thomas visited the camp. Meanwhile, controversial broadcaster Alex Jones produced a film about the secret location in the past after allegedly being infiltrated.
SFGate investigated a lawsuit filed by three former valets: Anthony Gregg Shawn Granger and Wallid Said on June 6, 2023. The complaint alleges that the Bohemian Club engaged in unlawful practices, including “nonstop” working days, limited telephone calls, and few lunch or bathroom breaks. The legal complaint also claimed that the Bohemian Club failed to pay minimum wage or overtime.
The complaint revealed the camp hosts three events annually: the Spring Jinx (spring jinx), the Spring Picnic and the Summer Encampment.
The documents allegedly also showed that the club was broken into more than 100 camps. Some of these were mentioned in the complaint. Lists were made of the Camels Camps and Last Chance Camps as well as the Monastery Camp.
The complaint stated that “Monastery Camp” is one of Bohemian Grove’s most prestigious camps. The complaint stated that attendees included Bohemian Club executives from Fortune 500 companies as well as prominent government officials.
The complaint alleges that one or more “captains,” at each camp, violated labor laws by ordering valets to “falsify their payroll records and work off the clock.” Four valets allegedly were forced to work nonstop for 18 hours to provide a two course lunch and dinner to approximately 90 guests during the Spring Jinx’s “Burgundy Lunch.”
The lawsuit alleged that during the Summer Encampment three employees worked “16+ hour per day” for the entire 14-day camp, despite the fact that their timecards showed only eight hours each day. The lawsuit claimed that overtime was paid “under the table” and did not reflect actual hours worked.
The documents claimed that “employees had been intimidated or forced into giving up meal periods.” The documents also claimed that phone calls could only be made before 9 am and after 9 pm, and they were limited to 30 minutes.
In 2016, Bohemian Club was sued and ultimately agreed to pay $7 million as a settlement resulting from a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that more than 600 workers were the victims of wage theft between 2011 and 2014.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer declined to give a statement to SFGate. The outlet briefly called the Bohemian Club which does not have any media contacts. When asked about the suit, the person who answered the phone at the clubhouse reportedly replied “I don’t know” and that there was no-one else to talk to. The emails sent after that were also unanswered.
