Living in Peru : your everyday companion

It is a sad truth that there are too many stories of people abusing their housekeepers all around the world. The latest such story that I've heard comes from the USA and involves NBA Basketball star Kobe Bryant and his Peruvian ex-housekeeper Maria Jimenez. For those of you who haven't heard of Kobe Bryant, he is widely considered among the league's two or three best professional basketball players. Besides having won several NBA championships with the Lakers, Bryant is also remembered for being accused of the rape of a young woman back in 2004 (a charge which was later dismissed).

Recently, the Peruvian ex-maid of Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa, filed suit against the couple for mistreatment. According to the initial report, Vanessa Bryant became furious with Ms. Jimenez when she machine-washed an expensive shirt which Mrs. Bryant claimed was ruined by the washing. In a bizarre twist, Mrs. Bryant then allegedly forced Ms. Jimenez to retrieve the receipt of the shirt from a bag containing dog feces.

Living in Peru recently was put in touch with Attorney William Vogeler who is handling Ms. Jimenez's case. According to Mr. Vogeler, Ms. Jimenez has been in the United States since 1985. In that time, she has worked continuously as a housekeeper but she has never had the same problem as she alleges in her complaint against Kobe and Vanessa Bryant. In fact, although it is Kobe who has the history of legal problems, Ms. Jimenez defends the NBA superstar as a nice man. Kobe is only included in the lawsuit because he is responsible for paying Maria's medical bills and overtime wages.

Ms. Jimenez's main problem was with the abusive behavior of Vanessa Bryant. Apparently there exist recordings of Mrs. Bryant being verbally abusive in public places. However, when I did an internet search to verify this, I found several examples of talk shows discussing outbursts from Vanessa Bryant, but I found no authentic recordings of Mrs. Bryant herself.

When Maria was employed with the Bryants she worked 10-12 hours a day, six days a week at the Bryants’ home, cleaning the house, picking up after the children, washing clothes and performing other housekeeping duties. She was paid an annual salary of $50,000.

Maria Jimenez's attorney believes this case could have a huge influence on the housekeeping industry in bringing attention to housekeeper's rights in the United States. He states:

"I suspect many housekeepers feel they are abused by their employers. There are laws, particularly wage and discrimination laws, that protect housekeepers and other workers from such abuse."

The lawsuit was prompted by several events, including Maria’s health issues. The Bryants were responsible for her medical bills, but they did not pay them. Sadly, Maria continues to be in a state of poor health and she will probably need further surgery.

Maria is originally from Lima, Peru and returns annually to honor her mother who died here.

Living in Peru would like to thank William Harrison of playasasia.com for putting us in contact with Maria Jimenez's legal team.