Drybar Managers Sue Private Equity Owner Regent LP and Affiliated Company for Misclassification and Other California Labor Law Violations  

Plaintiffs allege that Regent and an affiliated company misclassified salon workers as overtime-exempt after a 2020 settlement for similar violations.  

Los Angeles, California (September 16, 2026) — Two former Drybar managers represented by Katz Banks Kumin LLP filed a class and representative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) action in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Regent LP, a private equity firm that is one of Drybar’s largest California franchisees, a Regent-controlled company that operates the California salons, and two of the companies’ executives. 

Kirstie Asencio and Jessenia Martinez allege in their complaint that Regent LP and the affiliated company misclassified California managers as exempt from overtime, despite requiring them to spend the vast majority of their working hours performing the same tasks as the chain’s hourly employees. These tasks included washing and styling customers’ hair, greeting and waiting on customers, stocking shelves, sweeping and mopping floors, sanitizing styling stations and bathrooms, unclogging drains, and answering phones. The plaintiffs further allege that managers routinely worked more than eight hours a day, sometimes more than twelve hours in a day, and forty hours a week without overtime pay, and were denied meal and rest breaks mandated by law.  

“Drybar’s prior owners were sued for misclassifying these employees just a few years ago, and they subsequently reclassified the managers and began paying them correctly,” said Jessica Westerman, counsel for the plaintiffs. “But when private equity took over and began slashing labor budgets, it reverted to this illegal past practice in an effort to cut costs. As a result, workers who spend eight-plus hours per day on their feet managing the day-to-day operations of thinly staffed salons have been denied wages and other critical worker protections. Our clients recognized these illegal practices and have filed suit.”  

Misclassification is a common way for employers to avoid their legal obligations to employees and cut costs. Employers that misclassify their workers in this way avoid paying their workers overtime and other critical benefits, even though the work performed is the same as hourly employees who are eligible for overtime. Private equity companies are rarely held accountable for employment decisions at their portfolio companies. But when a private equity company is directly involved in those decisions, it is equally liable for the harm it causes to employees.   

The complaint also alleges that the companies left managers to cover business expenses out of pocket and had no reimbursement policy at all before 2024. These expenses include hundreds of dollars for unreimbursed mileage traveling between shops and for supply runs, the cost of the personal cell phone data managers used because of inconsistent salon Wi-Fi, basic salon supplies like shampoo and toilet paper when company credit cards were maxed out, and laundry expenses for washing salon towels when the company’s laundry contractor missed pickups.  

This lawsuit is brought on behalf of current and former employees with the title of Shop Manager, Dual Manager, Area Manager, and Area Shop Educator, or in similar roles, employed by these companies in California since April 2022, along with a representative group of managers employed since June 20, 2023, under California’s Private Attorneys General Act. 

In their complaint, the plaintiffs name Regent and affiliated entity Beauty International LLC, as well as Regent founder, chairman, and chief executive Michael Reinstein, and Deborah Webster, a Regent operating partner who is the president of Beauty International. 

Plaintiffs in this case are represented by Jessica Westerman, Jesse Broad-Cavanagh, and Bethel Habte at Katz Banks Kumin. 

The case is Asencio and Martinez v. Regent LP, et al., No. 26STCV29214 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cnty.). 

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About Katz Banks Kumin LLP 

The attorneys of Katz Banks Kumin LLP are nationally recognized leaders in whistleblower, civil rights, and employment law. The firm handles cases nationwide with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia. https://katzbanks.com