Two former teachers at Ye’s Donda Academy will have to shore up their state Labor Code allegations against the rapper if they want to keep him as a defendant in their lawsuit, a judge had ruled.
Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers allege they were wrongfully fired in 2023 after complaining about work conditions and alleged wage violations. They are suing the 46-year-old entertainer, formerly known as Kanye West, as well as the school. The plaintiffs say in their Los Angeles Superior Court suit that they were the Simi Valley school’s only Black female teachers and allege that their wages were illegally withheld and that they were wrongfully fired in March.
On Friday, Judge Robert Broadbelt found shortcomings in the plaintiffs’ part of the case against Ye.
“The court acknowledges that Hailey and Byers have alleged that (Ye) has engaged in a pattern and practice of continuously providing plaintiffs with inaccurate and untimely wage statements,” the judge wrote. “However, that allegation is conclusory is not supported by the facts alleged. Thus, the court finds that plaintiffs Hailey and Byers have not alleged facts establishing that (Ye) may be held personally liable for the alleged Labor Code violations.”
Broadbelt gave the women 20 days to file an amended complaint.
In their court papers urging the judge to remove Ye as a defendant, the rapper’s attorney maintained that Ye has nothing to do with Donda’s policies, practices and procedures relating to employee pay and wage statements.
“Surely, plaintiffs know that,” the singer’s lawyer contended in their pleadings. “But as unfortunately is commonly the case for Ye, a famous artist and businessperson, plaintiffs have haphazardly tossed a meritless and barebones guilt-by-association theory into their complaint to garner press attention and the resulting settlement pressure that comes with it.”
The Donda Academy is a private Christian school in which Ye is its CEO. Hailey and Byers allege that their paychecks were untimely or inaccurate throughout their employment.
Byers alleges in the suit brought in April 2023 that she never received her first check. Both plaintiffs maintain that their pay was often short by about $1,800 to $2,700 per pay period. The teachers say they complained to Donda, that they were terminated in violation of the Labor Code and that they were not immediately paid wages due them upon termination.
The plaintiffs also alleged that the academy does not have a proper disciplinary system, allowing some students to be subjected to severe bullying. They also maintain that the school has no cleaning staff because Ye does not believe in cleaning products containing chemicals, leaving teachers to clean with acid water and microfiber cloths.
The plaintiffs were in the academy’s parking lot when they arrived to work in March 2023 and were told that they were being terminated, the suit states.