Poppy Montgomery Sued $48,000 By Former House Helper For Unpaid Wages

Australian-American actress Poppy Montgomery portrayed Norma Jean Baker / Marilyn Monroe in the Blonde. She played an FBI agent Samantha Spade on the CBS mystery drama Without a Trace from 2002 to 2009. Then she starred as the Detective Carrie Wells on the CBS/A&E police drama Unforgettable from 2011 to 2016 is being sued alongside her husband by a former housekeeper, who claims she is owed money for working in the couple’s home.

A housekeeper named Miriam Trejo claims she worked for the famous couple from 2014 to 2022 inside their home outside of Los Angeles. In the filing, she says her main job was “cleaning, cooking, and taking care of (their) children among other responsibilities, according to new legal documents obtained by The Blast.

At the time, the housekeeper claims she made $25 an hour, but Poppy and husband Shawn Sanford “exercised pervasive control over her wages and working conditions.”

The housekeeper claims that she had no lunch breaks. During the eight-year period, Trejo says she worked five days a week at an average of eight hours a day. But, alleged she was “never provided uninterrupted, 30-minute meal breaks throughout the duration of her employment.” Adding, “She was unable to take her rest breaks because she was constantly needed to perform her duties” and was “deterred from taking compliant meal and rest periods.”

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In California, the labor code laws require employers to provide every employee “an uninterrupted meal period of not less than 30 consecutive minutes, for every period of work exceeding five hours,” the lawsuit states. This includes another 10-minute break, for every period in excess of four hours.

The housekeeper says she was not provided with breaks for approximately 193 work weeks she was with the family. So, she is asking for a judge to order the famous couple to pay up the entire amount, dating back to 2014. The amount breaks down to a combined, “$48,250” the lawsuit states.

The housekeeper also says Poppy and Shawn owe her more than $36,000 in unpaid wages plus nearly $7k in overtime.

On top of all this, she’s looking for thousands more in various penalties under California’s labor laws.

Media has reached out to Poppy’s camp so far no word back.

It should be noted, the lawsuit doesn’t mention why or how the person was “terminated” from working for the family.

Interestingly, Poppy Montgomery made headlines in the past few weeks after fans discussed her 2001 representation of Marilyn Monroe. As you know, Netflix is releasing a highly anticipated new adaptation of ‘Blonde’ starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe. Of course, it isn’t the first time the tragic tale was brought to the screen – Poppy’s version ran in 2001 and landed her on the cover of TV Guide Magazine.

Also, if you are a big Disney fan — Poppy and her husband announced in 2020 that they were secretly married inside Disneyland with their children and Minnie and Mickey Mouse presiding. The ‘Unforgettable’ actress opened up about the magical ceremony, saying, “My mother was horrified. She was like, ‘How do you turn Disneyland into Vegas? You don’t run away to Disneyland and get married!’”

“They’re very small. Like, really small. And I thought there were children in there, or little people, I didn’t know,” about the famous characters. Adding, “And my children were so in awe of Mickey and Minnie that they didn’t really pay any attention to the wedding. And then my stepdaughter said, ‘Why is Minnie dressed better than you?’ Because I wore jeans and Minnie was in a sort-of bridal gown.”

However, the case is still ongoing.

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Sources: TMZ, The Blast

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