Recent news reports have confirmed that Stone has filed a breach-of-loan agreement action before the Los Angeles Superior Court last week. In her lawsuit, the “Casino” actress claimed that Erlinda T. Elemen owes $9,500.00 of a $12,500.00 loan she made to her in 2010.
Elemen started working for Stone in 2006 until she was promoted as the head nanny of the actress’ three children after a couple of years until she was fired in February 2011. Incidentally, when Elemen was axed from her job, her loan was not yet settled.
Meanwhile, in Elemen’s lawsuit, she claimed that she was fired because the actress refused to give her overtime payment that she earned while traveling along with Stone’s children in several occasions. Also, she further claimed in her lawsuit that while she was under Stone’s management, the actress often mocked her Filipino background and accent, avoiding her to speak with her children because she did not want her kids to speak like the way she did and making scornful comments about Filipino foods and disparaging remarks that blatantly equated being Filipino with being stupid. Furthermore, the actress allegedly banned her from reading the holy bible inside the actress’ house.
Stone previously tried to have the case dismissed but a judge ruled that Elemen had provided enough evidence to support her claims. Therefore, her charges of harassment, failure to prevent harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination pursued.
Obviously, Stone has no choice but to face her charges. Therefore, as a response, her lawyer, specializing for wrongful termination in California, contested that Stone simply made comments about Filipino foods and accents. Also, the lawyer further claimed that the nanny had been paid overtime when traveling when traveling with the kids and on holidays.
Just last month, Stone was also hit with another employment case when her former domestic worker, Angelica Castillo, filed an employment discrimination and employment lawsuit against her, claiming that she was axed from her job for being slow at work due to severe back pain as a result of a back injury while performing her duties in June, 2012.
So far, Elemen’s lawsuit is set to be heard on July 30. Hopefully, this lawsuit will serve as an eye-opener to the state and federal regulators to realize the need to provide an extensive law to protect such class of employees. Household employees often have only a little or no power at all to avoid such harassment and employment malpractice. Therefore, such incidences are very common.
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