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Thursday, October 08, 2015

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Fire Back at Former Interns' Lawsuit

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Fire Back at Former Interns' Lawsuit:

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen at the 2015 Met Gala in New York City. Photo: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen at the 2015 Met Gala in New York City. Photo: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
In early August, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's The Row became the latest label to be slapped with a class-action lawsuit by a former intern. Now, just weeks before their spring 2016 collection is set to walk at Paris Fashion Week, the Olsens are hitting back at claims put forth by fashion designer and Parsons School of Design graduate Shahista Lalani.

According to Sept. 14 court documents obtained by Fashionista and filed in New York County's Supreme Court, the Olsens's company Dualstar Entertainment Group "denies each and every allegation" in Lalani's case. Lalani, who interned at The Row from May 2012 to September 2012, claimed that she worked 50-hour weeks, during which she completed a number of menial tasks, ranging from running personal errands for paid employees to inputting data into spreadsheets — for which she received neither pay nor college credit. The complaint stated she should have been paid minimum wage (plus overtime) for this labor, and estimated that more than 40 past and present interns would be entitled to join her suit.

The Olsens, however, have responded to say "that at no time did Dualstar act in a willful, wanton, reckless and/or malicious manner." The document goes even further, saying that Lalani "has failed to state facts sufficient to constitute claims," while Dualstar "acted, at all times, in good faith and had reasonable grounds for believing its conduct complied with applicable laws and regulations."

Expect much more from this suit to come.

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