The travel nanny claims the Stanfields did not pay her for a week's worth of work during a trip to New York.
LaKeith Stanfield and his wife, Kasmere Trice Stanfield, are being sued by their travel nanny, who claims the couple did not pay her after she provided round-the-clock care for their infant child during a week-long trip to New York City.
According to court documents obtained by ET, Monica Sawyer is suing the couple, claiming they agreed to pay her $500 per day from Oct. 31 to Nov. 7, 2023, to provide 24-hour care for their infant. That week saw the Stanfields attending the WSJ Magazine 2023 Innovator Awards and CFDA Fashion Awards, among other things.
Before the trip, Sawyer claims the Academy Award nominee's wife called her to outline the activities, dietary plan and sleep schedule the couple expected her to follow. Sawyer says she traveled to New York City and met the couple on Oct. 31 at The Greenwich Hotel, where Sawyer claims she immediately began taking care of the infant.
Sawyer went on to claim that the infant stayed with her every night and "consistently woke up every 2.5 hours, remaining awake for approximately 45 minutes each time." She claims she worked all day and night the next day and the newborn "remained in her care until the next day." Sawyer claims the couple "left [Sawyer] alone this entire time with the infant."
The travel nanny claimed she hardly had time to eat, sleep or shower, all the while being constantly bombarded with requests from the couple (like allegedly bringing Trice Stanfield juice because Stanfield messaged saying his wife's blood sugar levels were dropping). One day, Sawyer says she had a scheduled teledoc call and needed a one-hour break. And while the couple provided her with the break, Sawyer claims she was met with aggression and attitude when she brought it up.
Then, five days into the trip, Sawyer states in court documents she made it clear to the couple that she was exhausted, prompting her to request a minimum of four hours off each day for the remainder of the trip.
The couple acquiesced, Sawyer said, giving the nanny what she hoped would have been a much-needed break. Sawyer, however, claims it didn't turn out that way. The nanny claims Trice Stanfield "continuously messaged her requesting access to her room, giving detailed instruction of how to prepare the infant's bottles, and requesting that [Sawyer] bring a prepared bottle to [the couple's] room."
Sawyer claims she was not in her hotel room when Trice Stanfield made these particular requests and had to return to her room to give Kasmere the materials to make a fresh bottle.
"At the end of the break," the court documents state, "the infant was returned to [Sawyer's] care and the infant slept in [Sawyer's] room."
On the last day, Sawyer claims Trice Stanfield messaged her the itinerary for the day and "stated that the infant would be in [Sawyer's] care on the drive to the airport and during the return flight." Sawyer claims she told Trice Stanfield she was not comfortable having the infant during the flight. In response, Sawyer claims Trice Stanfield walked over to her room and demand an explanation.
Sawyer claims she "reiterated that she was not comfortable holding the infant on her lap during the flight because it is a safety risk" and she "expressed her frustration for having the infant for seven days straight with no breaks to use the restroom, eat, or even shower." Sawyer claims Trice Stanfield replied, "That's the role of the travel nanny," and that none of her previous nannies had asked for a break.
Furthermore, Sawyer claims Trice Stanfield retaliated by canceling her flight and telling her to find her own transportation back to Los Angeles. Sawyer claims she had no option but to book her own flight back to L.A. Upon returning to L.A., Sawyer claims the couple refused to pay her for the eight-day trip -- "not one dollar."
In her lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Sawyer claims the couple committed a number of labor code violations.
ET has reached out to the couple for comment.
"This is a stunning case of elitism by two celebrities who can clearly afford to pay Ms. Sawyer. They could have just shown her even a modicum of respect and humanity and merely paid her for the time she worked and all this would be moot," said Sawyer's attorney, Ron Zambrano, partner and Employment Litigation Chair at West Coast Employment Lawyers. "But given their failure to pay and dismissive attitudes, we're now forced to seek legal remedies for Ms. Sawyer, and the case is clear. Pay her what she is owed now or we're very confident a jury will find in our favor, and they'll just pay more."
It was back in July when the Judas and the Black Messiah star revealed that he and Trice Stanfield got married and are new parents. Stanfield, who played Darius on the hit FX show Atlanta, is also a father to two daughters under the age of seven from previous relationships with Xosha Roquemore (in 2017) and Tylor Hurd. Trice Stanfield is a first-time mother.
RELATED CONTENT:
