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With the announcement of Hulu’s new series, Vanderpump Villa, and a third Las Vegas restaurant in the works, reality-television magnate Lisa Vanderpump appears set on continuing to expand her rosy pink empire. But a pro-union Rachel Leviss may not be the only thorn in her side. Both Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, are being sued by former TomTom employees for wrongful termination, retaliation, and defamation, according to a legal complaint obtained by People on Friday.
The two former bartenders who filed the complaint reportedly worked at TomTom — the notorious bar-restaurant run by Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz alongside the husband-and-wife duo — from May to December 2022. The lawsuit alleges “rampant violations of California labor laws, harassment, and unsafe working conditions,” including late paychecks and “sewage in the employee break room.”
According to People, the workers allege that TomTom did not assign them shifts in December 2022, “constructively terminating them.” Further, one of the bartenders claims that Vanderpump and Todd “blacklisted” him and allegedly “defamed him to future employers.” The Cut has reached out to Vanderpump’s representatives for comment and will update this post when we hear back.
Only time will tell what exactly we’re dealing with in the world of bratty Bravo Toms. In the meantime, I’m going to try to forget the vague but disturbing image of “sewage in the break room.”
Correction: A previous version of this post confused details about TomTom with Schwartz & Sandy’s, another restaurant featured on Vanderpump Rules. TomTom is not in a strip mall and it did not face delays in opening following post-Scandoval Yelp reviews.