Pop star is not a defendant
A judge has approved the filing of an amended lawsuit by a former employee of a firm owned by Ye in which the plaintiff now seeks millions of dollars in damages because she allegedly suffered retaliation when she complained about missed meal breaks and other workplace violations.
Plaintiff Maya Stewart sued Ye company Yeezy LLC as well as Gap LLC in Los Angeles Superior Court and although Gap has responded to the complaint and denied her allegations, Yeezy has yet to answer. Stewart filed court papers with Judge Mel Red Recana on May 25 seeking a default judgment against the entity.
The 45-year-old Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is not a defendant in the suit. The Yeezy Gap apparel line deal, announced with much fanfare in 2020, was touted to earn $1 billion annually, but the partnership ended last September.
Stewart says she was hired by Yeezy and Gap in January 2021 as an accessories developer who designed products, producing a sample product from a preliminary sketch and making samples from textiles and materials both owned by Stewart and provided by the companies.
On Tuesday, Recana gave his consent to Stewart's filing of a revised complaint in which she now states she is entitled to $1.3 million in compensatory damages, $2 million in punitive damages, $500,000 in attorneys' fees and costs and an award of past and future pay of at least $300,000.
According to the suit, in the spring of 2021, after Stewart complained about alleged meal and rest break violations as well as compensation for overtime and business-related expenses, her hourly pay was reduced from $60 to $50.
Stewart again submitted written requests to the companies for overtime pay in June 2021 and submitted another invoice the next month for compensation, the suit filed March 28 states.
But to date, in retaliation for complaining about wages, the companies have not paid Stewart for the June 2021 invoice and have further failed to have deserved overtime pay, according to the suit.
