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Even as Kim Kardashian currently studies law, she can’t seem to avoid getting sued. Seven former members of the gardening and maintenance staff of her $60 million Hidden Hills mansion filed a lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles against the 40-year-old entrepreneur.
According to the suit, the plaintiffs claim Kardashian regularly paid late, withheld 10% of their wages for taxes (and evidently didn’t forward those amounts to the government), refused to pay them overtime, and occasionally required them to work without meal breaks.
One plaintiff, a 16-year-old, claimed he worked far beyond the 48 maximum allowable hours for underage summer employees. Another plaintiff claimed he was immediately fired after bringing up the overtime pay, tax issues, and meal breaks.
Frank Kim of the law firm Kim Legal now represents the seven men: Andrew Ramirez, Christopher Ramirez, Andrew Ramirez Jr., Aron Cabrea, Rene Ernesto Flores, Jesse Fernandez, and Robert Araiza. Interestingly, the attorney currently represents one of Kanye West’s former employees for a similar lawsuit involving the rapper’s opera “Nebuchadnezzar.”
“Wage theft and other workplace violations are a widespread problem in Los Angeles,” Kim told the Daily Mail. “My firm is currently investigating other potential violations against these defendants, as well as other powerful families and businesses on behalf of everyday workers.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Kardashian claimed the workers were hired and paid through a third-party vendor, which Kardashian hired to provide the services. “[Kardashian] is not party to the agreement made 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 told Page Six. “[Kardashian] has never not paid a vendor for their services and hopes that the issue between these workers and the vendor who hired them can be amicably resolved soon.”
Additionally, a source close to Kardashian told Page Six that the mogul isn’t known to pay her bills late. “She takes a lot of pride in paying people on time for their work so this issue has nothing to do with her and these workers are suing the wrong person,” the source said. “The lawyer for the employees was very careful not to include [Kardashian’s] name in his statement or directly mention any claims against her, because he knows these employees never worked directly for [Kardashian], only through a third-party vendor.”
