Kim Kardashian was sued by her former gardening and maintenance staff after allegedly did not pay them on time, withheld wages for tax purposes without reporting them to the government, refusing to pay the extra hours worked, and didn’t allow employees to have meal breaks.
According to TMZ, the court papers also allege that the workers didn’t receive itemized pay stubs. Among the claims, one former worker says he was fired after asking for his overtime pay and requesting meal breaks. Another worker, who was a minor at the time of employment, claims he had to work more than the maximum allowed for underage summer employees.
© GrosbyGroupFrank Kim, the lawyer representing the former workers, said these types of situations are not new. “Wage theft and other workplace violations are a widespread problem in Los Angeles,” he told Page Six. “My firm is currently investigating other potential violations against these defendants, as well as other powerful families and businesses on behalf of everyday workers.”
As reported by the publication, Kim Kardashian’s spokesperson said that a third-party vendor is responsible. “These workers were hired and paid through a third-party vendor hired by Kim to provide ongoing services. Kim is not party to the agreement; therefore, between the vendor and their workers, therefore she is not responsible for how the vendor manages their business and the agreements they have made directly with their staff,” the spokesperson revealed. “[Kim Kardashian] hopes that the issue between these workers and the vendor who hired them can be amicably resolved soon.”
Another source told TMZ that Kardashian “never missed a cellphone bill payment, let alone payment for workers at her home.”
As reported by The Cut, Frank Kim also represents plaintiffs in several lawsuits against Kim Kardashian’s estranged husband, Kanye West. The outlet informed that former workers are making similar complaints, including mistreatment during the rapper’s Sunday Service shows, wage theft, and refusal of meal breaks.
This is not the first time a Kardashian has been accused of mistreating an employee. In an episode during the final season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian went toe to toe for a disagreement that Kourtney had with Kim’s nanny during a recent family trip. According to Kim, her nanny felt “degraded” by the Poosh founder, who just “kept yelling at her.” Kourtney called the nanny a straight-up liar, and things heated up to the point that Kim made a low blow, claiming Kourtney couldn’t keep a nanny.
