Donald Trump's modeling agency was sued by a Jamaican fashion model regarding for allegedracketeering, breach of contract, mail fraud and violating wage laws for immigrants. It will now be up to the judge to reconsider based on the merits of the case if it will proceed or not.
Alexia Palmer accused the Trump Model Management LLC for lying to the federal government regarding its work-visa application. The application stated that she would be paid $75,000 a year while living in the US.
According to Think Progress, the model only received $3,880.75 over the three years for 21 modelling gigs after the company deducted a number of high expenses from her pay. The complaint alleges the agency of fraudulent misrepresentation and a violation of the US immigration and laws concerning labor.
The suit was filed in October 2014 and Judge Analisa Torres will be the one to decide if the motion of Trump Agency to dismiss the case will be approved or not. If Judge Torres rules the case to proceed then it will somehow revive Trump's foreign labor practices, as per News Week.
Trump's lawyer, however, said the case is giddy and without merit. They added that Palmer was never an employee of the agency and has only worked for a brief time as a fashion model, which they said amounted to less than ten days. Lawrence Rosen said that at the end of the day, this model just didn't have a successful career and he expects to fully win the case.
Naresh Gehi, Palmer's attorney, reiterated that her client was cheated of earnings and was seduced by a life of glamour that never materialized. According to the Telegraph, Palmer was discovered in a Jamaican model agency's Caribbean Model Search when she was just a teenager and became the first Jamaican model to star in Vogue. She then move to New York in 2011.
This is not the first time though that Trump was criticized for his labor practices. Trump's companies sought to import at least 1,100 workers on temporary visas since 2000. Among these numbers, there were 250 who were signed as foreign fashion models in his company.
