Caddies at Montclair Golf Club have filed a class-action lawsuit against the private club
Caddies at Montclair Golf Club, which sits about 20 miles west of Manhattan, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the private club for allegedly violating state wage laws by paying them less than minimum wage and failing to pay overtime.
The suit was filed in state Superior Court in Newark on April 7 by the New York law firm Lipsky Lowe on behalf of about 250 caddies who have worked for the club since August 2019.
According to the complaint, caddies at the club are not paid any wages. Rather, golfers pay them a fee of $60 for each golf bag they carry, and generally tip them as well. The most recent raise to the bag fee was in 2016. Caddies can work one or two shifts in a typical day.
The Montclair Golf Club, a private club owned by its members, was founded in 1893 and has been designated a Distinguished Emerald Club of the World by the prestigious Board Room Magazine, according to its website. Its clubhouse on Mount Prospect Avenue faces Eagle Rock reservation and slopes down to three 9-hole courses, unusual for densely populated Essex County.
‘Drink runs’ for golfers
Members pay an initiation fee of $40,000. to $70,000. and yearly dues of $5,000. to $15,000, according to the complaint. Recently, the club launched an $18 million renovation plan to update its facilities and amenities.
The four caddies named in the complaint have all worked at the club for many years, and work there year-round, the complaint says. They live in Irvington, Orange, Linden and South Amboy/Plainsboro. During peak season, they work 14-hour days, six or seven days a week, the caddies say.
According to the complaint, caddies are under the strict control of a “caddy master” who determines who gets work, how much work they get, and requires them to do unpaid chores like setting up for tournaments, cleaning bathrooms and golf carts, and making “drink runs” to fetch beverages for golfers from the clubhouse bar.
If a caddie is late, or unavailable to work on busy holidays, he is “punished” and made to wait for work, sometimes all day, unpaid. Caddies are also expected to stick around, unpaid, in the caddy shack, even if there are no work prospects, the complaint says.
The workers allege the Montclair Golf Club is in violation of the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law.
The caddies are asking for all of their unpaid minimum wages and overtime pay, damages, and reimbursement of attorney’s fees.
Montclair Golf Club management did not return calls requesting comment.
Article originally appeared on: Golfweek.usatoday.com
Kind of feel for you, but at the same time it’s what you signed up for. And at $60 a bag for a typical 4 hour round, that’s the minimum wage right there. And depending on how much they tip? I’m sure you also aren’t sharing any of that tip money with the IRS. I suppose you could quit and work at McDonald’s for $15 an hour and get overtime. But being outdoors all day on a golf course doesn’t seem half bad. I would, however, ask for pay when you have to set up for tournaments and the like. That’s not a caddy’s job.
I caddied at a private club from the age of 12 to age 17, I hitch hiked to and from the club every day. Eventually, I landed an inside pro shop job. The most lasting benefit I gained was an insight into how rich professionals lived. In the normal course of time, I would never have gained this insight. 65 years later, I am comfortably retired and blessed with a loving family. My caddying experience sent me on a rewarding life’s journey that I would have never otherwise have achieved! The club should be increasing the basic $60/bag. Lots of inflation has occurred since ss
No increase in the $60/bag since 2016?? Pony up Montclair members..you are guilty of extreme selfishness. Give your caddies a break!!! You can well afford it.