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From Salon--off the wires!
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's former housekeeper is suing the celebrity couple for allegedly failing to pay her about 1,640 hours of overtime pay and firing her after she complained to them.
In a lawsuit filed Sept. 11 in Ventura Superior Court, Marilu Cooley said she worked for the Smiths and lived on their estate for 4 1/2 years. She said during that time she often worked more than 40 hours a week and received overtime pay during her first two years of employment.
But starting in March 1999, Cooley alleged the Smiths stopped paying her overtime and instead promised to pay her a $25,000 annual bonus.
Cooley said she never received the bonus and, after she complained about it, the Smiths fired her in October 2001.
The lawsuit says Cooley received $1,000 a week but didn't say how much she earned in overtime pay. Cooley was seeking at least $175,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit.
Calls to Cooley's attorney, Stephan Math, and the attorney for the Smiths, Jason Sloane, were not immediately returned Thursday.
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