Stevie Wonder is facing a $3.5 million lawsuit after a former employee accused the legendary singer of unfair dismissal - or, rather, he's accusing the LA radio station Wonder co-owns of unfair dismissal, but naming Wonder in the lawsuit.
Reginald Thomas Jr claims he was fired from his sales exec job at KJLH after raising concerns about possible 'plugola' and sexual harassment going on at the company with his boss, General Manager Karen Slade.
Plugola is a practice similar to payola, only it's advertisers who offer radio station employees perks, in return for station execs finding excuses to plug the advertiser's company on air.
The sexual harassment allegations seem to involve Wonder himself. Though Thomas doesn't accuse Wonder of anything specific, he says he did discuss with his bosses the fact that the singer called one of his female sales colleagues on her mobile one evening and claims that, when he questioned whether that might amount to sexual harassment, one of the station's management (possibly Slade, I can't quite work it out) said "You never know who he's fucking around here. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen".
Thomas claims that it was as a direct result of that conversation that he was dismissed from the company - hence the lawsuit. Neither Wonder's people nor KJLH have, as yet, commented on the allegations made against them.