Lisa Vanderpump Accused of Firing Staff After They Complained About Poor Work Conditions

Lisa Vanderpump Accused of Firing Staff After They Complained About Poor Work Conditions

Lisa Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, have been hit with a lawsuit by former TomTom Restaurant & Bar staffers, who are claiming wrongful termination. 

Radar Online reports that the former bartenders stated that they worked for the couple from May to December 2022, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. 

The employees alleged that they were axed after complaining about subpar working conditions. One of the workers claimed that the Vanderpump Rules matriarch and her husband “blacklisted him by defaming him to future employers.”

The ex staffer said that he believed that the “rumors and false statements were made with actual malice.”

The lawsuit stated that the bartenders alleged that the establishment had “unsafe work conditions.” They claimed that there was “sewage and backup in the employee break/locker room.”

The lawsuit stated — “During this period, [the former bartenders] experienced rampant violations of California labor laws, harassment, and unsafe working conditions.” 

Lisa and Ken own the restaurant/bar with Vanderpump Rules duo, Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval, but the reality stars are not listed as defendants in the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit comes after another former employee won a $24k judgment against Lisa and Ken over unpaid wages during the pandemic. 

Last month, Erika Lepe, a former employee of the since-shuttered restaurant, PUMP, scored the legal victory after filing a claim with the California Labor Commission. The ex employee worked as a bookkeeper, personal assistant and manager in the West Hollywood eatery from November 1, 2013, to June 8, 2020, the date she was dismissed.  

Lepe’s lawsuit stated that she was owed $14,076.90 in unpaid wages between March and June 2020. She also sued P.U.M.P. LLC for punitive damages.

Lepe and Ken appeared at a March 2023 hearing, where Lepe accused the company of withholding six bi-weekly payments of $2,307. 

The labor commissioner stated — “[Todd] testified that P.U.M.P. was closed at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic in March 2020 but that [Lepe] was kept on performing work for some time thereafter.”

The commissioner said that Lepe continued working to help PUMP secure government PPP loans. Ken explained that the PPP work continued until April 2022. He said that Lepe “may have been kept on performing work” until June 2020. 

The commissioner ruled that Lepe had provided “credible testimony and evidence that she was performing work” as late as June 2020. The state official said that Ken was “unable to provide a clear answer as to how long [Lepe] was performing work or when precisely she stopped working for Defendant other than the business was not shuttered” until June 15, 2020.

The commissioner determined that Lepe was owed $13,846.20 in unpaid wages. She was awarded a total of $24,767.62, which included $3,998.32 in interest and another $6,923.10 in penalties.

 

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