Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's former housekeeper and nanny, an undocumented worker, accused Whitman this morning of not paying her for all the hours she worked or reimbursing her for miles she drove, and she said Whitman laughed at her when she asked for her help obtaining legal status.
Nicky Diaz, whom Whitman fired in 2009, said she told her, "From now on, you don't know me, and I don't know you."
Diaz said Whitman "treated me like a piece of garbage. She treated me as if I were not a human being."
Diaz's lawyer, Gloria Allred, said Whitman was aware that Diaz was an undocumented worker.
Meanwhile, Whitman's campaign dispatched a copy of a Social Security card that Whitman's consultants said Diaz used as proof of legal status. Whitman consultants have said Diaz represented herself as a documented worker.
Allred said Social Security officials had contacted Whitman and her husband to tell her the Social Security number given for Diaz did not match her name. She said Whitman did nothing but refer the letter to Diaz and then ignored subsequent warnings from the government. Whitman told reporters Wednesday she never received the letter.
"If Ms. Whitman would like to dispute our claims of what she knew and when she knew it, then she should be prepared for the release of evidence," Allred said.
Photo: Attorney Gloria Allred (left) speaks to reporters alongside Nicky Diaz Santillan, the former housekeeper of Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, on Sept. 29, 2010, in Los Angeles. (Jack Chang/Sacramento Bee)
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