Meg Whitman Still Owes Housekeeper Money

After her failed bid for California governor, the millionaire must respond to claims that she owes her housekeeper unpaid wages.

By Jamilah King Nov 17, 2010

Less than a month after Meg Whitman saw her record breaking $140 million investment go belly up in California’s governor’s race, she’s being dragged to court to settle one last score. On Wednesday the billionaire must answer to charges that she owes her former housekeeper thousands of dollars in unpaid wages.

Nicki Diaz Santillan worked in Whitman’s home for nine years before she was fired for being undocumented. She alleges that she’s still owed $6,210 in unpaid wages and mileage from Whitman. So far it’s unclear whether Whitman or one of her attorneys will answer to the claims in a hearing scheduled for Wednesday in San Francisco. Diaz Santillan will be repesented by high powered attorney Gloria Allred, along with San Francsico immigration attorney Marc Van Der Hout.

The former housekeeper claimed that Whitman in fact knew about her immigration status for years, but chose to ignore it until the issue became politically dangerous once Whitman had seriously begun to consider a run for governor. Diaz Santillan’s story came to light in the final weeks of the race, and Whitman complained that her former housekeeper "had a gun to her head" and was being pressured to talk by Allred.

The Sacramento Bee filed a report Wednesday morning trying to pinpoint who’s responsible for the last minute conspiracy to sabotage Whitman’s campaign. Was it the California Nurse’s Association? Maybe. But that doesn’t take away from Whitman’s two-faced approach to immigration. She complained loudly that employers who knowingly hired undocumented workers were enablers, and should be punished. Meanwhile, she was busy doing exactly what she preached against.

Let’s just add this to the top of the list of better ways Whitman could have spent her millions.