Housekeeper Sues Kobe Bryant, Wife Vanessa For Wrongful Termination

 According to the Los Angeles Times, Maria Jimenez filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit last Friday (March 20) in Orange County Superior Court, alleging that Kobe's wife badgered and harassed her, and forced her to perform demeaning tasks. The 48-year-old housekeeper, originally from Peru, claims she worked 60 house a week in the Bryant's Newport Coast home, where her duties included cleaning their house, washing their laundry and cleaning up after their children. In the suit, she says Vanessa Bryant was incredibly abusive to her, so much so that in one incident, Vanessa demanded that she search through a bag of dog feces to retrieve a tag from an expensive blouse she accused Jimenez of ruining, so she could deduct it from her salary.She also alleges that she was called "lazy," "slow," "dumb," a "liar," and was addressed with profanity often. The suit says Jimenez was so overworked, she threatened to quit on at least one occasion, but decided to ride it out after Kobe convinced her. She also claimed Vanessa accused her of stealing clothes, a toy and even her retainer from the couple. The Bryants denied the allegations in a statement from the law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP, which has offices in Los Angeles. "Ms. Jimenez's outrageous allegations of improper conduct are totally unfounded and patently false," the statement said. "The Bryants intend to vigorously defend against these untruthful allegations and are confident that the baseless nature of the allegations will be proven."Jimenez's lawyer, William Vogeler, said his client was wrongly discharged because she was working under "intolerable circumstances" that led to her leaving the job. Vogeler also said the Bryants did not provide Jimenez with health insurance.The suit does not specify the amount that Jimenez is seeking in damages, but Jimenez said in the suit that she sustained damages of more than $20,000 in unpaid overtime. Jimenez also alleges that Vanessa Bryant screamed at her for putting a $690 blouse in the washing machine, and demanded that Jimenez put her hand in a bag of dog feces to retrieve the price tag for the blouse. Jimenez refused and said she would quit, but Vanessa Bryant allegedly demanded that she pay for the blouse first, the suit states. Jimenez says she stayed on the job to work off the cost of the blouse. SOURCE:LAT.COM