A beauty queen-turned-dress designer was slapped with a $10 million lawsuit yesterday by several former garment workers who claim she called them “f–king lazy and worthless” before firing them for complaining about not getting paid while helping make her pricey frocks.
Former Miss Ecuador Gabriela Cadena — whose colorful creations have been worn by “Vampire Diaries” actress Nina Dobrev and country singer Carrie Underwood — also allegedly made the employees eat lunch on the fire escape whenever she was in her Garment District office, the lawsuit charges.
The workers’ suit says they “were often required to work in excess of 40 hours per week” but weren’t paid overtime, and some weeks “were not paid anything at all.”
According to the Manhattan federal-court filing, they lodged a complaint in December and threatened to “walk out if they were not properly paid.”
Cadena allegedly responded with “demonstrable irritation,” raising her voice and telling the workers they “were lucky to have jobs” and should “be happy” she kept them employed.
The four workers — a sample maker, two pattern makers and a cutter — were axed in March, and Cadena also fired her creative director for siding with the workers, court papers say.
The suit also alleges that Cadena — whose business is backed by her wealthy dad — engaged in other shady employment practices, including issuing the workers independent-contractor tax forms, even though they were full-time employees.
A woman who answered the phone at Cadena’s office yesterday refused to comment. “Don’t call back,” she snarled before hanging up.