DoTerra Earth Essence
October 5, 2023
Dustin Bingham, who says he worked for doTERRA from 2017 to 2023, sued doTERRA International LLC, doTERRA United States LLC and doTERRA Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah on October 5, 2023, alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The case, Bingham v. doTERRA, seeks to proceed as a collective action on behalf of hourly, non-exempt employees.
The complaint alleges the company's payroll system undercalculated overtime because non-discretionary bonuses, including a 5 percent upsell bonus on additional products sold and a performance bonus paid every four months, were left out of the regular rate used to figure time-and-a-half pay. Bingham alleges upper management acknowledged the problem at a January 2023 meeting, decided not to correct it and moved to conceal the underpayments from employees. Dozens of current and former workers later filed written consents to join the case.
In May 2024 the court conditionally certified a narrower group limited to Utah hourly employees who worked more than 40 hours in a week and received a non-discretionary bonus, while denying requests for expanded discovery and equitable tolling as premature. Pleasant Grove, Utah based doTERRA sells essential oils through independent wellness advocates.