Advertisement
Labor

‘No Laughing Matter:’ Clowns Sue Clowns.com for Wage Theft

Former employees of the party entertainer company say they are victims of stolen wages and misclassification. The federal lawsuit details claims of QAnon conspiracy theorist bosses and retaliation for discussing allegedly illegal practices with colleagues.
‘No Laughing Matter:’ Clowns Sue Clowns.com for Wage Theft
Photo by LexScope / Unsplash

A group of clowns is suing their former employer Clowns.com for multiple labor law violations, according to recently filed court records. 

Four people—Brayan Angulo, Cameron Pille, Janina Salorio, and Xander Black—filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday alleging Adolph Rodriguez and Erica Barbuto, owners of Clowns.com and their former bosses, misclassified them as independent workers for years, and failed to pay them for their time.

The Long Island-based company, which provides entertainers for events, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law, the lawsuit claims.

The owners of Clowns.com didn’t give employees detailed pay statements as required by New York law, the lawsuit alleges. “As a result, Plaintiffs did not know how precisely their weekly pay was being calculated, and were thus deprived of information that could be used to challenge and prevent the theft of their wages,” it says. 

Advertisement