Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, 29, are being sued by 40 former interns who claim that they were never compensated after working 50+ hours a week.
Shahista Lalani, a former intern at the moguls’ fashion house, The Row, has organized a class-action lawsuit with 40 other interns that are demanding compensation for the work they did without pay or college credit.
The suit against the twins alleges their company, Dualstar Entertainment Group, failed to pay interns for menial tasks. Dualstar Entertainment is the parent company of the Olsen twins’ fashion labels, Elizabeth and James and The Row.
The interns also claim that they worked under horrible conditions. Lalani said, “It was like 100 degrees outside. I’d just be sweating to death. I probably carried like 50 pounds worth of trench coats. I’d be inputting data into spreadsheets, making tech sheets, running personal errands for paid employees, organizing materials, photocopying, sewing, pattern cutting, among other related duties.”
Now although those sound like average intern tasks, it is actually illegal to hire interns without agreeing to some form of compensation, whether it be monetary or educational.
So, how did the Olsen camp respond to the claims? Mary-Kate and Ashley’s company rep said, “As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organization that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws,” Dualstar representative Annett Wolf wrote in a statement to USA TODAY. “The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless, and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff’s claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety.”
But we still must ask, Olsen twins sued by 40 interns?! Could they really all be lying? Let us know what you think about the allegations in the comments section below.