Equinox Fights Off Fitness Instructor’s Race Bias Allegations

Equinox Holdings Inc. established that it fired a Black former fitness instructor because of an altercation with other employees, not because of her race, a federal judge ruled.

The ex-employee didn’t make out a prima facie case for discrimination, and even if she had, the luxury gym chain offered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the firing when it said she violated a workplace nonviolence policy, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York said Wednesday.

Equinox has been hit with claims of race discrimination before. A federal jury in May awarded a Black former trainer more than ...