Samantha Wilkins, who reportedly worked for the 'Black-ish' star from November 2019 to July this year, accuses her former boss of violating California Labor Codes.
- Dec 1, 2021
AceShowbiz - Tracee Ellis Ross has found herself caught in legal trouble. The "Black-ish" star is reportedly being sued by her former assistant after she allegedly failed to pay overtime wages.
Filing the lawsuit was Samantha Wilkins, who listed Tracee and her company Joy Mill Entertainment as defendants. In court documents obtained by Radar Online, Wilkins stated that she worked for the actress from November 15, 2019 to July 12 this year.
Wilkins claimed that she was initially paid $25 per hour and given overtime and meal breaks. In December 2019, Ross allegedly decided to classify Wilkins "as an exempt employee and paid a salary of $70,000 per year."
Later in September 2020, Ross raised Wilkins' salary to $100,000 per year. However, it didn't sit well with Wilkins who believed that it was improper to pay her a salary instead of hourly. "Defendants misclassified her as an exempt employee," so read the suit.
Although Ross and her company finally changed Wilkins' employment status as a non-exempt, hourly employee, the latter insisted that her former boss still owe her some money. "They illegally paid Wilkins a salary, without regard to the number of hours that she worked, the number of hours that she was on call, the overtime and double-time hours that she works, or the meal and rest periods that she missed," the lawsuit alleged.
Wilkins noted that she worked over 40 hours per week but was not paid overtime. The former assistant, who reportedly often worked more than 12 hours every day, additionally alleged that she was "regularly denied meal and rest breaks."
Wilkins is now seeking damages for "Labor Code Violations" in excess of $25,000. "Defendants knowingly and intentionally failed to furnish Wilkins with wage statements that accurately reflected all of the information required by Labor Code 226," the lawsuit read. "The acts and conduct of each and every defendant were intentional, harassing, and/or not a formal part of Wilkins's employment and were not the result of a legitimate business necessity."
