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Celebrity Justice
Patricia Heaton -- Everybody Loves Lawsuits

Posted Aug 17th 2009 5:40PM by TMZ Staff

Patricia HeatonNow we know why they didn't call the show "Everybody Loves Patricia." Ray Romano's "Everybody Loves Raymond" co-star, Patricia Heaton, is being sued by a former personal assistant who claims the actress fired her and then stiffed her for good measure.

Jennifer Lee claims she worked for Patricia from August 2007 to March 2009, earning $770 a week. Jennifer says she was hired to work 15-20 hours a week but had to work a lot more.

Lee says friction developed after she asked about her unpaid wages -- when Patricia said Lee's child was "becoming a problem" because of the work schedule. Lee says Patricia was unsympathetic, firing her and saying "things might have been different" if Lee didn't have a child.

In the end, Lee claims Patricia owes her at least $7,425 in unpaid wages. On top of that Lee wants her overtime and additional expenses paid.

We particularly like one line in Lee's lawsuit: "If the rich and famous wish to employ individuals to cater to their every need, they must also refrain from violating California's wage and hour laws."

Tags: everybody loves raymond, EverybodyLovesRaymond, lawsuit, paricia heaton, PariciaHeaton

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1. It's a good thing that Harvey is a lawyer, because a lot of the stories have to do with lawsuits.

Posted at 7:07PM on Aug 17th 2009 by Linda Mott

2. This is probally another no nothing trying to make money off a Star.

Posted at 7:16PM on Aug 17th 2009 by Sumo

3. Her brother Michael is a cheap bastard too. Must run in the family.

Posted at 7:24PM on Aug 17th 2009 by smith

4. There is nothing new here, people.  Read "The Nanny Diaries".  Read any book about the Kennedys.  When you worship at the altar of the bitch goddess Fame ya gotta put in extra hours.  If you leave at the end of your stated time, Mr. or Ms. Movie Star, inconvenienced by Real Life, would fire you so fast the smoke would reach the highway before you do.  Moral of the story: let 'em get their own latte unless they treat you right.

Posted at 7:23PM on Aug 17th 2009 by Just me

5. Shame on Patricia! She is such an outspoken conservative advocate of "family values" unless it inconveniences her...she has 4 kids of her own.

Posted at 7:42PM on Aug 17th 2009 by jenirow

6. LOL - Good story title.

Posted at 7:57PM on Aug 17th 2009 by snickers

7. Isn't Patricia Heaton supposed to be this big proponent of family values? That's really despicable she would tell someone things would be different if she didn't have children. I'm not a fan of Raymond and was disappointed in her show with Kelsey Grammer (who I love), but I will never watch another show with this hypocritical woman in it. Shame on you, Ms. Heaton!

Posted at 8:03PM on Aug 17th 2009 by MP

8. If they work for you , you have to pay the wages, I wonder if you own a sweat shop, hiring illeagle workers and holding there papers, until they pay you for thier freedom.Biatch

Posted at 8:22PM on Aug 17th 2009 by Homie1Kanobe

9. slime bag

Posted at 8:22PM on Aug 17th 2009 by saz

10. I use to like her. Now she's just acting black.

Posted at 8:31PM on Aug 17th 2009 by Bubba

11. I use to like her, but now she's acting kenyan.

Posted at 8:38PM on Aug 17th 2009 by Bubba

12. I and SO sick of the wealthy and greedy. If your employer gives you a PDA, just make sure you use the calendar on it to TRACK YOUR HOURS. Like this girl, most are too timid to speak up. You WILL be taken advantage of by anyone with beacoup $, so rule #1 is a) know your labor rights (there are tons of blogs out there to help you with this) and b) stand up for them early on. You can do so assertively, without becoming the beyotch that your boss is. Good luck!

Posted at 8:55PM on Aug 17th 2009 by PayUp

13. Has anyone done the math? This girl made $38.50 an hour to pick up dry cleaning! 15-20 hours a week! Where do I get that job? I met Patricia Heaton last year at an event for Autism in Santa Monica and she couldn't have been kinder. This Lee girl is looking for a gravy train, how disgusting! Hope her poor child grows up with better ethics than her oney grubbing mother. Shame on her!

Posted at 8:56PM on Aug 17th 2009 by AS IF

14. Quite honestly, kids often get in the way of getting work done. I always preferred employees who had no kids because they were not leaving the office on average about three times a week for one thing or another related to their kids. Leaving early, coming in late, too many personal calls, talking too loudly about their kids ~ endless. It's life but that doesn't make it a great fit with a busy work day that someone is paying for.

Posted at 9:01PM on Aug 17th 2009 by Whatever

15. Hey this assistant broad was make $30 an hr over min wage! WTF??? Min wage in Cali is $8 an hr and that was probably what she was worth. What's she complaining about? I am sick if people tying up our legal system over stuff like this. Hope they don't pay this cow a dime.

Posted at 9:13PM on Aug 17th 2009 by sigmachi

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