May 2, 2018
Hollywood star Johnny Depp's two former bodyguards are taking
him to court for unpaid wages and for forcing them to work in dangerous
conditions.
Eugene Arreola, a retired police detective, and Miguel
Sanchez first started protecting Depp, 54, in 2013 when they were employed by a
security corporation, according to a complaint they filed here on Tuesday,
reports people.com.
They have claimed the dangerous conditions included
exposure to "illegal substances" and loaded weapons and that they were made to
work as de facto babysitters for Depp's minor child and were also "forced to
protect (Depp) from himself".
In 2016, the duo say they were hired as
part of Depp's personal in-house security team. Around that time, they "began to
notice a stark change in Depp and the atmosphere on his Hollywood Hills
compound", according to the complaint.
"Depp began making sudden and
drastic changes to his staff and management team, causing a significant
financial crunch for everyone surrounding Depp, except for Depp himself," the
complaint read.
Arreola and Sanchez have said in the note that they
accepted the in-house detail because they "were loyal to Depp and his family and
understanding of the financial hurricane Depp was in".
Depp is currently
embroiled in a $25 million lawsuit with his former business managers, whom he
claims mismanaged the $650 million he has made in the last two decades to the
point of depletion. His former managers claim the actor's allegedly extravagant
spending is to blame for his financial woes.
Once Arreola and Sanchez
started working for Depp directly, they say they noticed their paychecks were
missing "overtime and rest pay". They also claim that from 2016 to 2018, they
did not receive overtime pay or "meal and rest breaks as mandated by law" and
were "misclassified as independent contractors when they were clearly hired as
employees", people.com reports.
They complained they were "constantly
used as drivers, driving back and forth at Depp's or his family's beckoning" and
were "asked repeatedly to drive vehicles that contained illegal substances" and
"open containers" and "were asked to monitor unstable individuals in (Depp's)
life and entourage".