Secret summer camp for the elite Bohemian Grove is being sued by former servants in a disturbing lawsuit

One of America’s most secretive clubs is facing a lawsuit from three former staffers who claim they were victims of a series of illegal labor violations while serving elite membership.

Private society Bohemian Club has hosted billionaires, industry titans, and government heavyweights at its two campuses, one in San Francisco and a Sonoma County retreat called Bohemian Grove, for more than 150 years.

But three servants who worked at the Bohemian Grove estate during the infamous summer camps now claim they were forced to work “non-stop” 16-hour shifts, during which they reportedly got no toilet or lunch breaks.

Despite its lucrative membership, the club also failed to pay minimum wage and overtime to staff, according to the lawsuit first reported by SFGATE.

For more than 150 years, the world’s elite have descended on the lavish summer camp of the California club, where the true colors of the cloak and dagger retreat are shrouded in secrecy.

While the male-only membership is kept secret, notable attendees include U.S. presidents, high-profile CEOs, and A-list celebrities.

Now decades-old questions about the club’s practices can be answered with the new lawsuit.

The court claims that the club hosts three events each year: the Spring Jinx, the Spring Picnic, and the Summer Encampment.

With high society watching, the summer conference reportedly concludes with a bizarre ceremony involving a human effigy and the burning of a giant sacrificial owl.

For those discriminating enough to be invited to the Sonoma County estate, attendees are split between more than 100 separate clubs, with names like the Camels Camps, the Last Chance camps, and the Monastery Camp.

“Monastery Camp is one of the most prestigious and well-known camps in Bohemian Grove,” the lawsuit claims.

“Participants include Bohemian Club members who are executives of Fortune 500 companies and prominent government officials.”

The club’s practices are shrouded in secrecy and reportedly involve bizarre rituals

Members would perform plays and theater during the camps, pictured in 1934

Bohemian Grove members seen on the grounds during the Spring Jinx in June 2017

The complaint filed alleges that each camp is assigned a ‘captain’, who allegedly subjects staff to numerous labor law violations in order to cater to the rich and famous.

Bohemian Club treasurer Bill Dawson is reportedly singled out in the lawsuit, accusing him of directing the servants to “false payroll and work off the clock.”

The document claims that those present would all be “aware” of valets working “almost non-stop” while on the premises, taking few, if any, breaks.

The club’s membership is a secret, but it’s known to have been populated by US presidents, CEOs, and industry titans

During a Spring Jinx “Burgundy luncheon,” four servants reportedly worked “nonstop for approximately 18 hours to provide a two-course lunch and dinner for 90 guests.”

The inner workings of the club have long remained a mystery since its foundation in 1872, but many historical moments are rumored to have links to the association.

Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential election campaign is said to have been launched in the camp. It was also reportedly the site of early discussions of the Manhattan Project with J. Robert Oppenheimer, which resulted in the US dropping two atomic bombs on Japan in World War II.

Earlier this year, the club also made headlines as one of the sites Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited with Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow.

Rumor has it that the wealthy members of the club let their hair down in the camp, including performing plays and musical theatre.

And while the motto is “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here”—a quote from Shakespeare implying outside affairs are not encouraged—the club’s membership has routinely been a who’s who of power and wealth.

The club has hosted numerous industry leaders throughout its history. Pictured (L-R) members Irvin S Cobb, author Charles Norris and magazine editor Ray Long

A photo taken at a Bohemian Grove camp in the early 1900s

Also included in the lawsuit is a revealing text exchange between a servant and a captain who saw the servant allegedly admit that his staff were “working so much without knowing what they were getting into.”

The lawsuit alleges numerous labor violations where staff were paid “under the table” for less than the hours they actually worked.

“Employees were intimidated or coerced into waiving meal periods,” the lawsuit alleges, adding that employees were also not allowed to call for more than 30 minutes, and not between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

In a telling detail about the highly secretive nature of the camp, the servants are said to be unable to name all of those they accuse, and some are referred to as “John Doe.”

The Bohemian Club does not provide media contact and the organization’s HR office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.