SAN FRANCISCO -- Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and former City Attorney Louise Renne announced Thursday that they are part of a team representing two 24 Hour Fitness employees who claim they were retaliated against after complaining about racist, sexist and homophobic remarks made in the workplace.

At a news conference at the downtown offices of Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLC, Brown and Renne announced the complaints against 24 Hour Fitness, a national chain that started in San Leandro and is headquartered in San Ramon.

Renne and Brown called on the company to clean up what they say are discriminatory practices and compensate employees whose careers have been affected.

"Over the last several years there's been a number of their employees who have complained," Brown said. "There's clear evidence of hostile conduct, so it warrants some effort to change the practices."

Brown and Renne are part of a legal team representing Paul Drobot and Reginald Allison, two managerial employees who complained about instances of discrimination in hiring on the basis of race, as well as frequent racist, sexist and homophobic comments.

In August 2006, the two employees filed charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about alleged discriminatory practices dating back to 2003.

According to those charges, management within the company not only refused to address the inappropriate behavior, but eventually retaliated against the employees for having complained.

"When these two reported to their immediate supervisor about actions not in keeping with the employee manual, what happened? They got squashed. They got demoted and eventually terminated," Renne said.

After a two-year investigation, the EEOC agreed with Drobot and Allison in September 2008 by issuing a determination against 24 Hour Fitness that said the company "retaliated against a class of individuals and subjected them to a hostile work environment."

Thursday, 24 Hour Fitness released a statement saying the company "firmly denies the charges made in the two cases. We have fully participated in the proceedings sponsored by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and continue to look to the EEOC to help the parties resolve these cases, without the need for litigation."

Brown joined the legal team on behalf of the employees late last year, but his and Renne's involvement was not announced until this morning when the complaints were made public.

The cases are currently working their way through an informal conciliation process, and if no settlement is reached then they could potentially proceed to litigation if the EEOC issues a letter for the right to sue.

"There is reason to believe that discrimination was taking place in not only hiring but promoting practices as well," Renne said. "These gentlemen suffered as a result of speaking up, and justice needs to be done."