Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are settling a class-action wage theft lawsuit brought by former unpaid interns, the New York Daily News reports.
Lead plaintiff Shahista Lalani filed the suit against the Olsens’ company Dualstar Entertainment Group in 2015 after she interned for their fashion label, The Row. Court filings alleged Lalani worked 50 hour weeks, had the same responsibilities as her paid counterparts, was treated poorly and suffered from dehydration during her five-month internship.
The two parties reportedly agreed to a settlement of $140,000. Each of the 185 interns who joined the suit and are believed to be eligible for a payout will walk away with $530, Entertainment Tonight reports, though the outlet notes a judge has yet to sign off an agreement. Funds remaining after interns are paid will reportedly cover legal fees.
Neither Lalani’s attorneys nor Dualstar could be reached for comment before publication. Back in September 2015, Dualstar refuted Lalani’s claims. In court filings obtained by Fashionista, the company said that it “denies each and every allegation” and maintained that Dualstar "at no time" acted “in a willful, wanton, reckless and/or malicious manner.”
The reported settlement follows a string of similar lawsuits. Condé Nast paid between $700-$1,900 to nearly 7,500 former unpaid interns and ended its program altogether in 2013, while CBS was hit with a class action lawsuit by its interns in 2015.
Their settlement amounts may not be quite enough for the Olsen twins’ former interns to take a “Holiday in the Sun,” but it is something.
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