Gloria Allred: Octo-Mom May Be Violating California State Child Labor Laws
Attorney Gloria Allred believes Nadya Suleman may be violating a number of California state child labor laws by booking numerous jobs for her newborn octuplets.
At a press conference Monday, Allred announced that she and child advocacy group “A Minor Consideration” have filed a petition in Orange County Superior Court to protect the financial interests of the babies and to appoint a guardian over their estate.
“Rather than chose to provide her children with a normal life, their mother, Nadya Suleman, has chosen to commercially exploit them,” Allred said. “We believe that the babies are entitled to remuneration since most of the compensation appears to be use of their images.”
The goal, she added, is “to be sure that the babies receive their fair share of payments” and that their payments “be placed into separate accounts for them and preserved for them as required by law.”
The guardian can hire a professional agent for the babies — different from Suleman’s rep — even if Suleman will not benefit from opportunities herself.
Allred — who represented “Angels in Waiting,” the non-profit nursing agency that Suleman severed ties with this year for allegedly “spying” on her — also went on to detail the “number of California labor laws” they suspect Suleman, 33, of violating.
When filming or photographing children, a nurse and credentialed studio teacher must be present, Allred said.
By law, children — ages 15 days to six months — also can only be at the place of employment for two consecutive hours (between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.). Infants can’t work any more than 20 minutes each day.
Suleman may be “potentially endangering the health, welfare and safety of children,” Allred added.
A hearing date is set for June 22.
Said Allred, “This could be avoided if Nadya Suleman agrees with that appointing an independent guardian for estate of the octuplets to represent and protect their interests.”
May 4th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I usually hate Allred but she’s right. Those babies are susceptable to all kinds of illnesses as they were preemies. Hasn’t this dumb ass heard of RSV? Or maybe the flu that’s going around? Keep your freaking kids at home you idiot and stop whoring them out.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Allred needs to get hit by a truck.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Is she really taking the kids out, though? Or, are all these buttinskis coming to her house uninvited?
Seems like a lot of people are forcing their way all up in her business – sending nanny/spies she doesn’t want, shit like that … Each time she took a kid home from the hospital, wasn’t she surrounded and mobbed?
Seems like Alred is causing MORE problems for her.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:30 am
While I agree that most of the income should be placed in a trust fund for when the children turn 18, they won\’t have a normal life if Nadya isn\’t allowed to spend any of it while they are growing up. Clearly she is going to need a lot of extra income (on top of a regular job) to raise these kids properly. They\’re going to be hounded by the paparazzi anyway and they are already in the limelight, she might as well profit from it and give them a comfortable life.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Gloria Allred needs to stop trying to garner attention for herself by using Suleman and her kids. It’s pretty disgusting.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:45 am
No matter what Nadya Suleman does, Gloria Allred is going to have a problem with it. I don’t necessarily approve of Suleman and her decisions, but enough is enough. I’ve not heard of her calling out Jon & Kate Gosselin for their reality show, and don’t see much of a difference in terms of the children “working”.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Where is Gloria Allred in the Gosselin kids’ lives? Because those kids have been working their butts off to pay for mommy and daddy’s mansion.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Gloria is a media whore. While I agree that Nadya needs assistance, and yes, there should be a trust set up for the children to receive upon whatever age, Gloria or Gloria Awful as I like to call her needs to back the heck off. There are many many other children in this industry-acting or on the “reality” shows that have representation that you are not hearing about.
I feel that Gloria attached herself to this woman and had it out for her from the start. No matter what this woman or her family or who ever she has helping her from now until adulthood does, Awful is going to come after her on any show (cough cough Dr. Phil, Nancy Grace..cough cough) or media outlet that will have her on.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Gloria need to mind her own business. Octocrazy is none of my business, She is none of your business and she is definately none of Gloria MediaWhores business
May 5th, 2009 at 9:33 am
I think Gloria is doing the right thing by those kids. Who cares who is a bigger media whore. They both are. But the reason Octo has gotten her 14 kids into this is because no one has stood up to her in her entire life and forced her to do the right thing. She’s a 33 year old spoiled brat who forces others to treat her childlike decisions. Go Gloria.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
What about Jon and Kate + 8 or the duggan children. who is going to report them? why don’t you care about them allred? whatta b*tch she is. just let nadya raise her kids. she’d do a better job than you!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Gloria is dead wrong. If they are being filmed in their own home, they are not “working.” Does that mean they can’t stay in their own home for more than two hours? Now Nadya not only can’t keep the money from it in order to raise her kids, but she’s going to have to pay reps for her kids and all of that nonsense? That’s a spiteful thing for Gloria to do- and it’s just spite. She didn’t like being fired as their advocate and she’s searching for anything she can do now to hurt Nadya financially.
May 6th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
My kids have work permits and agents. They never work but my family is in the business so you never know. This is how it works.
15% of their income is to be placed in a Coogan account for them when they turn 18. As their parent I am entitled to the other 85%, minus the agents 10% and the manager\’s 15%. That is the law and children cannot work in the entertainment industry or have a work permit without that being established.
The payments are made directly to the Coogan account and the parent/child in separate payments.
May 7th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Octomom didn’t make the final decision to implant 6 embryos – the doctor did. She didn’t split 2 of them making a total of 8 babies. She did carry them to a good size and delivered 8 precious children by the grace of God. She is the mother – leave her alone. Unless of course you want to help or support her in some way.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Who is gloria Allred to start suing these families because they do not raise their children the way she wants them to be raised. If she wants to be a child advocate be an advacate for the children who are starving. Be and advacte for children of parents with drug and alcohol problems or children with no parents. Stop going after the money and suing families who are taking care of their kids. There are plenty of kids in this world who could benifit from you and your drama. I am sure she is making a pretty penny of these lawsuites. Does she feel bad if the money comes from the kids to pay her the lawyers that she is involving.