At least three employees of the Pasadena Spa Lady are suing the company that formerly managed the fitness center for up to 14 weeks of back pay.
Seven employees, most of them aerobics instructors, say Club Management Corp. owes one woman more than $2,300.
"I haven't seen a paycheck [from CMC] since May," said Patricia Piper, a part-time aerobics instructor. She said the company owes her about $800.
"They'd always say the check is in the mail," but it never was, she said.
Jean Lauer, who said the company owes her more than $2,300 for her work as a baby-sitter and a maintenance worker from July 16 to Oct. 6, said no one answered her numerous phone calls to CMC's management office in Timonium.
An answering machine picked up calls to that office yesterday, but no one returned the messages.
Ms. Lauer's last pay stub from CMC, received Oct. 3, paid her for July 1-15. Her previous paycheck, which she received Sept. 15, paid her for June 1-15. She said she knew the pay was behind a few weeks, but not three months.
"All I can say is, the bookkeeper or whoever wrote checks either didn't know what they were doing, or they shortchanged all of us," said Ms. Lauer. "It really ticks me off that they can do that to us. It don't seem right. It's owed to us."
Ms. Lauer, like many other employees, still works at the spa, now managed by MGK Enterprises, which took over management Oct. 6. The employees said the new company has paid them in full and on time.
John Masters, the company's owner, said MGK is trying to add the Pasadena site to its chain of 16 Spa Lady centers in Maryland and Virginia.
He said he feels sorry for the employees who weren't paid.
"We did our best to get [CMC] to pay these people what they owed them," Mr. Masters said. "We tried to put pressure on CMC. They kept telling me their intention was to pay everyone."
Three of the employees who have filed suit against CMC's acting agent, Ronald D. Henry, said District Court attempts to serve Mr. Henry with a subpoena have failed.
Christine Price, who said she is owed $500, said she has tried twice to have a subpoena served on Mr. Henry but that the address she had for him was incorrect.
Teresa Ludlum, who said she is owed $1,400, said she recently received the same news in a letter from the District Court.
She said she thought the employees would be more successful if they pooled their resources and hired a lawyer but that the employees who were owed less were reluctant to join.
Ms. Ludlum said she was frustrated that she and the other women cannot get help.
"I've called the attorney general, I've called everybody, and nobody wants to do anything," she said. "I even called the wages board, and they said there's nothing they can do. We have every kind of proof that we are owed the money, but it's like nobody cares."