JESSICA ACCUSED OF CHEATING EMPLOYEES OUT OF $430K
Bosses from hell? Jessica Biel and her business partners at the West Hollywood eatery Au Fudge are being sued by nine current and former employees who accuse them of cheating their workers out of $430,000 in tips. “The staff earned that money and are owed it,” Keith Davidson, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, tells In Touch. In court documents, the nine employees claim the actress, 35, and her partners “wrongfully converted” the 22 percent gratuity charge from private party events held at Au Fudge “in order to pad their own pockets and deprive plaintiffs their just compensation in violation of law.” The papers also allege that the employees “were improperly denied meal and rest breaks, overtime compensation and earned wages under various illegal payroll practices.” The employees are seeking $430,100 in gratuities from the events, $31,549 in missed breaks and no less than $1 million in punitive damages. But according to Jesse M. Caryl, legal counsel for Au Fudge, Jessica and her partners are prepared to fight. “The Company and its investors strongly dispute the allegations raised in the complaint,” he tells In Touch. “While the Company will not litigate the matter in the media, it looks forward to vigorously defending itself before the court.” Still, the lawsuit is a blow to the 7th Heaven alum, who opened the kid-friendly restaurant with her partners in 2016, a source tells In Touch: “This is a very tough time for Jessica because it’s her name that’s on the line.”