Brandy has agreed to pay her former housekeeper $40 000 (about R680 000) after she was sued for age discrimination.
The 34-year-old singer was hit by a lawsuit from Maria Elizabeth Castaneda earlier this year, with her former staff member – who worked for her at her mansion in Calabasas in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, from September 2002 to February 2022 – accusing the “Boy is Mine” hitmaker for denying her proper wages and meal breaks, as well as age discrimination and wrongful termination.
The lawsuit claimed Castaneda was “not permitted to take an uninterrupted 10-minute rest break in the morning and an uninterrupted 10-minute rest break in the afternoon, nor was (she) permitted to take an uninterrupted 30-minute meal rest break.”
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The employee – who was paid $125 a day for work including cooking, cleaning, and laundry – was demanding over $250 000 but agreed to settle the dispute for $40 000.
According to RadarOnline.com, her lawyers also demanding Brandy pay an additional $87 445 for their legal fees.
Their court filing read: “(Castaneda’s) counsel only seeks a fair recovery for the time, risk, and effort spent in representing its client and now seeks an award of attorney’s fees and costs in the amount of $87 445.89.”
Brandy had denied all allegations of wrongdoing and insisted the housekeeper was an independent contractor, not an employee.
The judge has yet to rule on the legal fee request.
