NEW YORK, Feb. 4 A Mexican national has filed a lawsuit in New York federal court claiming she was forced to work up to 150 hours a week for a producer of "Pan's Labyrinth."
Angelica Hernandez accused her bosses of paying less for her services than they did for white nannies, the New York Post reported. Hernandez said her employers -- producer Frida Torresblanco and her husband Marc Weiss, a financial analyst -- forced her to work grueling hours as a housekeeper, and then as a nanny, for far less than the minimum wage, the report said.
"I was taking care of her child, her prized possession, and I was abused," Hernandez said. "She traveled often, so I would stay with the child."
The suit alleged that when Hernandez joined Domestic Workers Unite in September, Torresblanco dismissed literature Hernandez brought home, explaining her rights, as "stupid," the Post said.
"She grabbed me by the hair, slapped me, and punched me on the arm," Hernandez said, recalling an incident that allegedly happened days after she tried to defend her rights.
The newspaper said it could not reach Weiss and Torresblanco for comment.
Copyright 2008 by UPI
