Devo Singer’s Ex-Nanny|Alleges Discrimination

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh's wife harassed and verbally abused the couple's nanny and housekeeper and fired her because of her age, she claims in court.

Luna Kahn, 64, claims in Superior Court that she was a nanny for Mark and Anita Mothersbaugh's two adopted daughters for nine years before she was fired in April.

"Throughout plaintiff's employment, and even more so during the last few years of her employment, she was verbally abused, humiliated, shamed, embarrassed and treated inhumanely by" Anita Mothersbaugh, the 24-page lawsuit states.

Anita Mothersbaugh's "despicable and horrendous abuse not only occurred in front of the defendants' family but also in front of other employees, in front of friends, construction workers and anyone else who happened to be at defendants' home," according to the complaint.

Kahn claims that Anita Mothersbaugh screamed and cursed at her, called her a "pig" and referred to her as "old or having Alzheimer's."

"On one occasion when plaintiff was making a meal for defendants' daughters AM [Anita Mothersbaugh] began to berate plaintiff for the food choices and told plaintiff she did not want her daughters to be a 'cow' like plaintiff's daughter," the lawsuit states.

Kahn claims that when the Mothersbaughs were on vacation she discovered the family safe had been left open while construction workers walked around the house. When she called the Mothersbaughs to tell them, Anita accused her of stealing, Kahn claims.

Mark Mothersbaugh "attempted to calm AM down by telling her that no one had the combination to the safe so it was impossible for plaintiff to have done what she was being accused of," the lawsuit states. "If clothes or valuable were missing from the house, AM automatically accused plaintiff of theft despite defendants having numerous people working at their home on a regular basis."

In March, Kahn says, she took two weeks off work after injuring her lumbar spine. When she returned to work, she found that a younger employee had taken her place, leaving her with four hours of work each week.

The Mothersbaughs later fired Kahn because of her age and disabilities, she claims. She says she never received overtime wages though she typically worked for Mothersbaughs from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

"As plaintiff was leaving, one of defendants' daughters said, 'My mom says you are too old to work for us.' This is further evidence of defendants' intentional ill will against plaintiff because of her age," the complaint states.

Kahn seeks lost earnings, unpaid wages, court costs and damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, wrongful termination, age harassment, and nine other counts.

Defendants include The Mark Mothersbaugh Family Trust and Mutato Muzika.

Kahn is represented by Todd Harrison with Perona, Langer, Beck, Serbin, Mendoza & Harrison of Long Beach.

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