Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen Sued: Interns Claimed Twins Overworked Them Without Pay

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are on the receiving end of a lawsuit filed by a former intern who claims they neglected to pay her during her six-month stint working 50-hour weeks at their company.

Intern Sues Olsen Twins

Shahista Lalani is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that accuses the Olsens of not paying interns who functioned as full-time employees. Lalani’s suit claims that roughly 40 other interns were likely overworked for no compensation.

Lalani had served as a design intern for Olsen fashion label The Row. During her time there, she answered to The Row’s head technical designer.

“She was very demanding,” Lalani told Page Six, claiming to have required hospitalization for dehydration while completing her duties. “I was doing the work of three interns. I was talking to her all day, all night.”

“You’re like an employee, except you’re not getting paid,” Lalani added. “They’re kind of mean to you. Other interns have cried. I’d see a lot of kids crying doing coffee runs, photocopying stuff.”

Lalani’s lawsuit claims that she and other interns were classified as exempt from minimum-wage requirements, which they believe was incorrect. Furthermore, the interns at the Olsens’ company were not even compensated with college credits.