Personal assistants working for celebrities need a contract

Personal assistants working for reality stars are in the news again this week. Ironically, just last week, there was a snafu with an assistant on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. And, again, this week the same show has an issue with an assistant. How strange. 

It has been alleged that one of the stars of RHOA hasn't paid her assistant money due. We can't confirm that, but we absolutely can confirm this is standard operating procedure for some TV stars in entertainment. As recruiters of personal assistants to celebrities, it's our job to make sure everything is legitimate. 

When working for celebrities, how should assistants be paid?

First and foremost, celebrity assistants should be paid a fair market salary -- that's hard enough as it is. One of the downsides to working with some celebrities is that they pay low wages, but they also pay in cash. That's right. It's all under the table with no taxes paid by the celebrity employer or the PA -- of course that's illegal. 

Without an employment contract with their assistants, celebrities can change their minds in the blink of an eye and essentially write the assistant off and not give them their final paycheck. 

What can celebrity PAs do to protect their wages?

There are a number of things an assistant can do to make sure that they don't get burned when it comes to salary:
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• Have an employment contract
• Make sure your wages are distributed through a business entity
• Don't forget to have everything 100% legal
• When possible, have a neutral third-party witness the agreement
• When possible, go through a staffing agency so your rights are protected

When in doubt, speak to a labor lawyer and get the legal protections you need to collect your PA salary.