Singer Brandy Norwood was sued by a former housekeeper who accused her of age discrimination.
According to legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Elizabeth Juarez claims Brandy wrongfully fired her after working for the singer for 20 years.
Juarez claims Brandy, 43, terminated her employment because she “didn’t want an older employee.”
Juarez said she was hired to clean Brandy’s home in Calabasas, California in September of 2002, at a rate of $125 a day.
Over the next 20 years, Juarez’s expanded duties included “cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry.”
The COVID pandemic hit in 2020, and Juarez’s hours were cut due to the lockdowns.
Juarez claims she was let go by Brandy on February 25, 2022, and “this wrongful termination was due to age discrimination.”
Juarez said she is still owed two days salary after the firing. She also alleges the R&B singer failed to give her proper breaks, meal periods, and didn’t pay her overtime over the past few years.
The court documents allege that Brandy may have violated her former housekeeper’s rights by failing to provide “itemized wage statements that properly and accurately itemized the number of hours she worked at the effective regular pay rates and the effective overtime pay rates.”
“As a direct and proximate result of (Brandy’s) conduct, individually and collectively, she suffered and continues to suffer substantial losses in income, earnings, and benefits and has been damaged in her capacity to earn her salary and has lost and will continue to lose employment benefits.”
Juarez seeks compensation for “severe and serious injury to her person.”
