Betty White has always been a classy actress with an untarnished reputation, until now. She’s is a “Golden Girl”, after all. But wage and hour violations do not play favorites or discriminate. At 94 years old, Betty White is being sued by her former caretaker over a wage and hour dispute.

Anita Maynard, White’s caretaker, accused the former actress of violating wage and hour laws by not paying her minimum wage/overtime for her services from Feb. 23, 1994 to March 11, 2016. A wage and hour lawsuit was filed against Betty White on Thursday, March 17, 2016 with a state court in Los Angeles, California.

According to The National Law Review online, the illegal actions cited by White’s caretaker Maynard included, “alleging that she was not paid minimum wages or overtime, was not permitted to take meal and rest periods in compliance with the law, and was not paid all wages due to her when her employment ended.”

To give an overview of the situation, Anita Maynard was a domestic worker for Betty White and worked as a long time live-in employee, caretaker, and maid. Maynard reported that she would sometimes work 14 hour days but that she was not paid for overtime. The former caretaker also stated that she sometimes worked a 6th day in the week. Since she stopped working for Betty White, Maynard said that she has not received the unpaid wages and vacation pay she is owed (Note: the vacation claim and several other claims in this case are brought under California law which differs significantly from the federal minimum wage laws). In the action captioned Anita Maynard vs. Betty White Ludden Ms. Maynard seeks unpaid wages, attorney fees, costs, and penalties.

The full wage and hour complaint can be downloaded and viewed here – Anita Maynard vs. Betty White Ludden Wage and Hour Case. Betty White has yet to comment or make a public statement regarding the allegations.

This case presents issues common to many employees as evident from the fact that wage and hour disputes are on the rise across the country, and particularly in Florida. Just because your employer pays you on a “salary” basis, don’t be fooled. You may be entitled to overtime. In fact, most caregivers or employees in similar positions are not exempt from overtime on the basis of the election of a salary-based payment.

Because caregivers often work long hours, it should be no surprise that unpaid overtime lawsuits often form the basis for the wage-hour claim by the caregiver.

The fact is, if you’re not legally exempt from overtime pay, your employer cannot withhold these overtime premiums from you, even if you do decide to quit or get fired.

Has your employer violated wage and hour laws?

If you believe your employer has illegally withheld pay or failed to pay you all that you have earned, then contact an employment attorney immediately. Wenzel Fenton Cabassa, P.A. are employee rights attorneys for employees whose rights have been violated by employers.

Set up a free confidential consultation for wage and hour violations in Tampa today.

SOURCES:

Betty White Sued by Former Caretaker for Unpaid Wages

Betty White Sued By Caretaker Over Claims of Unpaid Wages, Lack of Breaks

Even Betty White can Be Sued for Alleged Wage and Hour Violations

Please Note: At the time this article was written, the information contained within it was current based on the prevailing law at the time. Laws and precedents are subject to change, so this information may not be up to date. Always speak with a law firm regarding any legal situation to get the most current information available.