Tracee Ellis Ross’ Ex-Assistant Drops $300k Lawsuit Over Unpaid Wages

According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Samantha Wilkins has informed the court she is dropping all claims against the actress and her company Joy Mill Entertainment.

According to reports, Wilkins accused Tracee Ellis Ross of overworking her and failing to pay her a substantial amount in overtime. The ex-assistant said she was employed by Ross from November 2019 through July 2021. Reportedly, her initial rate of pay was $25 per hour with overtime. A month later, Ross decided to classify Wilkins as an exempt employee and paid her a salary of $70k. A non-exempt employee would be entitled to overtime pay for all hours worked over 40.

A year later, Ross increased Wilkins salary to $100k. However, Wilkins said she should have been classified as a non-exempt employee instead and be entitled to overtime.

 

Tracee Ellis Ross

According to RadarOnline, in November 2020, Samantha Wilkins said Tracee Ellis Ross and her company “finally corrected” her employment status and started paying her as a non-exempt, hourly employee. The former personal assistant said,

“therefore, from December 19, 2019, to November 24, 2020, Defendants misclassified Wilkins employment and treated her as a non-exempt employee.”

She accused Ross of “illegally paying” her a salary

“without regard to the number of hours she worked, the number of hours she was on call, the overtime and double time hours that she worked, or the meal and rest periods that she missed.”