Exclusive | Dolce & Gabbana allegedly stiffed NYC makeup artists out of pay, then fired them when they complained: lawsuit
Two New York makeup artists say working at Dolce & Gabbana was anything but glamorous — claiming the luxury brand stiffed them out of pay and punished them for speaking up.
Lisa Rodriguez, 53 and Leslie Bethel, 57, who worked the counter at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship, allege in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit that D&G Beauty routinely delayed their paychecks, withheld commissions and flaked on promised insurance stipends.
“They were thrilled to be working their dream jobs in the beauty industry,” they said in the lawsuit. “Those dreams soon became nightmares when … D&G failed to provide them with timely and accurate payments.”
Bethel was hired in early April and Rodriguez started the following month, but neither woman got a paycheck for roughly six weeks after they began working — and the late payments never stopped, according to court papers.
After repeatedly raising payroll issues, Rodriquez was offered just one day of paid time off to cover late rent fees, she claimed in the June 9 litigation.
Then in May, after allegedly going three more weeks without pay, she fired off a desperate email.
“Hi can someone please find out why I still have not been paid?? It’s three weeks. I have not been paid on time for a year now. Please I have to pay rent.”
Days later, she said she was pulled into a meeting and told she was being terminated because she didn’t meet “Dolce standards” and had trouble “staying in her own lane,” she claimed in court filings.
Bethel alleged she ran into the same payroll problems — and had to borrow money from friends and family to stay afloat.
The situation was so intolerable she quit in January and claimed the company never even paid one of her final checks.
The pair is suing D&G Beauty along with three bosses for wage violations, breach of contract and whistleblower retaliation, seeking back pay, damages and a shot in front of a jury.
Dolce & Gabana did not immediately respond to a request for comment.