Olsen's Dualstar Entertainment Group faces unpaid intern lawsuit

London - Dualstar Entertainment Group, the company founded by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen is being sued by a number of former interns for alleged misconduct and wage theft. The lawsuit claims that the multi-million dollar business, which includes the twins fashion brand The Row, failed to pay roughly 40 past and present interns wages.

The leading plaintiff in the case, Shahista Lalani, who interned at the Row in 2012 for five months, claims she put in 50-hour weeks during which she did the work of three interns. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Lalani says she was treated poorly by her supervisor, the head of technical designer and was hospitalized for dehydration because of the job's demands, according to Page Six. She noted that several other interns were also forced to work under the same conditions, who also "should have been paid the minimum wage plus overtime because they were doing the same type of jobs as the paid colleagues without receiving academic or vocational credit".

However a Dualstar spokeswoman, Annett Wolf has stepped forward and challenged the allegations in the lawsuit. "As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organization that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws," said Wolf to WWD. "The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless, and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff’s claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety."