Unemployment panel sides with housekeeper, against KobeState appeals panel sides with Maria Jimenez, who is suing the Laker star and his wife.
By Andrew Galvin and Rachanee Srisavasdi
The Orange County Register
A state appeals panel has ruled that Kobe and Vanessa Bryant must pay unemployment benefits to their former housekeeper, who is suing them for harassment.
The California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board affirmed a decision by Administrative Law Judge Mary McInerny, who said that Maria Jimenez testified credibly that she quit because she was repeatedly "demeaned and humiliated" by her employer. The Bryants failed to present evidence to contradict Jimenez's testimony, according to McInerny's decision.
"It means everything to her,'' said Jimenez's attorney, William Vogeler. "She's fighting to survive in this economy like the rest of us. The Bryants had tried to fight her getting $300 a week."
A lawyer for the Bryants, Jon Daryanani, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Jimenez, a Peruvian immigrant who is a U.S. citizen, sued the couple in March. She said the Laker star's wife "badgered, harassed and humiliated'' her, including making her touch dog feces as punishment for potentially ruining a blouse, according to the lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court.
The lawsuit also alleged Vanessa Bryant called Jimenez "a (expletive) liar,'' "dumb,'' and "lazy."
The Bryants have denied the account of Jimenez, who worked at the couple's Newport Coast home from September 2007 to March 22, 2008.
Jimenez receives $326 a week in unemployment benefits, Vogeler said. Under state and federal laws, she can draw up to 26 weeks of benefits with extensions for another 56 weeks.
The appeals board's decision became final on May 1, Vogeler said.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/jimenez-bryants-appeals-2401030-decision-unemployment
