(From top) Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Salma Hayek: Star clients

Washington, July 2: A high-end Indian American owned salon chain, which counts Madonna, Naomi Campbell and Salma Hayek among its clientele, is being dragged to court in a class action suit alleging that it brought women from India and Nepal to work on paltry wages without overtime pay or breaks for meals and rest.

The case comes close on the heels of the conviction of an Indian American couple on Long Island for keeping two Indonesian maids as slaves and the ongoing, high-profile trial of an Indian American for the murder of his daughter-in-law for being black.

The California salon, Ziba Beauty, shot into fame for making up singer Madonna in 1998 for a cover story in Rolling Stone magazine.

It has since worked with actress-singer Hilary Duff, songwriter and fashion designer Gwen Stefani and actress Jennifer Aniston, among others.

According to Virginia Keeny, an attorney for the immigrant workers, the class action suit is expected to gather 150 to 200 plaintiffs, who allege that they were paid a low wage of just $4 an hour by Ziba Beauty for long hours of labour at the salons and then required to do mehndi work free at celebrity parties.

Navneet Chugh, an attorney for 39-year-old Sumita Batra, CEO of the salon chain, is denying the allegations and says some of the employees earned as much as $55,000 annually plus tips.

He insisted in interviews to local media that 75 per cent of women employed by the salon had earned over $18,000 in addition to tips in 2007.

Ziba Beauty was founded by Kundan Sabarwal, who grew up in Iran, India and the UK, before moving to the US in 1984, according to her profile on the company website.

Batra, her daughter, has authored a book, The Art of Mehndi, and has put together fashion editorials for Vanity Fair and The New York Times Magazine.

Because the salon chain has been working for such mass viewership TV shows such as “America’s Next Top Model” and “Extreme Makeover”, the case against it is drawing media attention here.

The Los Angeles Times has published an in-depth story on the case with extensive details about the Sabarwal family.

Their 12th salon is set to open this autumn. The family has its own line of Indian beauty products, a music business and publishes a magazine about cosmetics. Their annual pageant, Ziba Girl, is a major draw in California and they host many public events connected with beauty business.

The plaintiffs allege that behind such gloss are murky labour practices that exploit gullible women who are brought from South Asia, who often know little English and are unaware of laws in the US that are designed to protect workers.

One of the workers, who was allegedly dismissed when she challenged these practices, told the local media that she was forced to do free mehndi work even when she was carrying her baby into her eighth month of pregnancy.

What broke the back of the women who have been enduring their service conditions appears to be Ziba’s decision to cut the commissions of the employees — who allegedly had no base pay — from 25 to 16 per cent this year.