While we were all obsessing over the future of Vanderpump Rules, Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd were in court fighting a class action lawsuit from their former Pump employees. The lawsuit accused LVP of failing to pay minimum wage, overtime wages, and a variety of other employment violations.
Lawsuits from disgruntled employees have popped up a few times across their businesses, but this one is specific to employees of Pump. It’s been dragging on since 2020, and a judge finally settled the case. The Bravo stars have to fork over nearly half a million dollars.
Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd’s Pump lawsuit is settled
The latest update on the lawsuit from LVP’s disgruntled employees arrived via Daily Mail. They reviewed court documents that showed a judge’s order to make the restaurateurs pay out a settlement of $490,000.
The 2020 lawsuit was first filed by a former Pump server named Ernest Bennick. He claimed that Lisa and Ken violated a handful of labor laws and failed to pay wages at the time of termination. He filed a lawsuit to get his money back and also to teach them a lesson.
“I feel that by bringing this lawsuit, I could stand up for not only my rights but the rights of other employees who suffered from the same unfair wage practices,” Ernest explained.
He continued, “I felt that current employees might not want to share their experiences with Defendants since they feared losing their jobs.”
Of course, Pump shut down in 2023, and that caused a delay in the lawsuit. In an October 2023 filing, LVP’s lawyers argued that they couldn’t pay the settlement because of the restaurant closure. They cited back rent and other obligations to their landlord.
Ernest dragged LVP for those claims. Specifically, he noted how the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum boasts a $90 million net worth. He called her arguments “false” and “self-serving.” Thus, the lawsuit moved forward, and a judge sided with the employees.
After all of the legal fees, the final amount going to the employees is $252,638.96. The Settlement Class includes Pump employees who worked at the restaurant from August 2016 through December 2022. That means there are some Pump Rules cast members who might be getting a check in the mail.
Vanderpump Rules is streaming on Peacock and Hayu in the UK and Ireland.
