Lisa Vanderpump sued for not paying her restaurant staff, lawsuit claims reality star 'manipulated time cards'
A PUMP restaurant staffer has sued Lisa Vanderpump, the reality star from the 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'. The court documents filed charges Vanderpump for 'failing to pay employees' and 'manipulating time cards'. The lawsuit comes a few months after the reality star and her husband Ken Todd were slammed in a separate class-action suit, filed against their Los Angeles-based restaurants. Lisa Vanderpump's four restaurants in Los Angeles and West Hollywood are PUMP, Tom Tom, SUR and Villa Blanca.
Records obtained by The Sun reveal that for 'at least' the last four years Vanderpump's posh establishment PUMP has “failed to pay overtime wages” to their workers. The staff was permitted to “work off clock” -- including “requiring employees to be on-call” without any additional compensation whatsoever. The restaurant had subsequently` “failed to pay” for the hours or “paid at improper rates," alleges the lawsuit. Personnel also claimed that time sheets were “manipulated or edited” to “show lesser hours than actually worked during the pay period” -- a practice that has endured at the outlet for years.
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Supervisors at the Los Angeles hotspot also receive the tips left for the servers, claim the lawsuit. This too has been allegedly happening for at least four years. For at least three years now, employees haven't been paid their full wages after termination or resignation. Neither has PUMP provided staff with legally required lunch breaks for 'at least' four years now.
California mandates a 30-minute lunch break and 10-minute rest break for employees working more than five hours per shift. Court documents reveal servers alleging they would work for 'more than 10 hours' without proper breaks.
This comes after ex-employee, Ernest Bennick, filed a class-action lawsuit against Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, in October 2020, on behalf of both himself and all the other staffers who had endured the same behavior. Bennick had worked at PUMP between July 2018 and December 2019. On July 31, another former staffer Olivia Beverly filed a lawsuit on behalf of herself and coworkers at SUR, also owned by Vanderpump and her husband.
The Sun had reported at the time that the couple had allegedly “failed to pay workers minimum and overtime wages, provide proper meal and rest breaks, provide accurate wage statements or provide workers with pay stubs at the end of their employment,” according to court documents. Olivia was a SUR employee from October 2019 to January 2020.
The show 'Vanderpump Rules' also showcases all the behind-the-scenes drama in the restaurants since 2013. Although SUR and PUMP are both at the center of the show's madness, the latter had been closed for months after a tax dispute. It was listed “suspended” from the California Franchise Tax Board. According to the website, this status is related to tax return filings, failure to pay taxes, and/or failure to pay penalties/interest. PUMP was reopened only recently on March 17 on St Patrick’s Day.
Vanderpump and Todd attended the opening together. Vanderpump was clad in all green celebrating the occasion, and strict Covid-19 protocols were maintained, reports The Sun. Although they are yet to comment on the new suit, the couple has previously filed a formal response to deny all accusations against them. Their next hearing has been rescheduled from February 21 to April.