Johnny Depp sued by security guards for unpaid wages, hazardous conditions

2004: Nominated for Best Actor, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"; lost to Sean Penn, "Mystic River" 2005: Nominated for Best Actor, "Finding Neverland"; lost to Jamie Foxx, "Ray" 2008: Nominated for Best Actor, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"; lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood" PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's Past Loves (Reuters)

Two of Johnny Depp’s former bodyguards are suing the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor for unpaid wages and overtime — and they allege in court documents that they “were forced to protect [Depp] from himself” because of the star’s over-the-top behavior.

The suit filed in California superior court marks just the latest legal woes for Depp, who’s separately in the midst of a bitter $25 million fraud lawsuit with his former managers who have alleged extravagant spending by the star. In the new civil suit Eugene Arreola, a onetime LAPD detective, and Miguel Sanchez allege they were used as de facto chauffeurs and nannies for Depp’s family and were exposed to “illegal substances” by guarding the hard-partying actor.

In court papers filed Tuesday, Arreola and Sanchez allege that they protected Depp for years for a firm called Premier Group International — but that in 2016 they were hired as part of Depp’s in-house security team. Court papers allege, “In early 2016 Plaintiffs began to notice a stark change in Depp and the atmosphere on his Hollywood Hills compound. 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,” but they accepted the “in-house” jobs because, “Plaintiffs were loyal to Depp and his family and understanding of the financial hurricane Depp was in.”

Depp’s former security guards allege that once they began working for Depp directly, they noticed their paychecks were missing, “overtime and rest pay,” and that from 2016 to 2018 neither received overtime or were given “meal and rest breaks as mandated by law” and were “misclassified as independent contractors when they were clearly hired as employees.”

According to the court documents: “Plaintiffs found themselves in situations that required more than what a bodyguard would be expected to do” including, being “constantly used as drivers, driving back and forth at Depp’s or his family’s beckoning.” The guards also allege that they “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” risking their own reputations.

Court documents claim that one guard became a de facto babysitter when “Sanchez, whose primary detail was the protection of Depp’s children, was more often than not the primary caretaker for Depp’s minor child,” and, “Worse yet, Sanchez was told to give into every whim of Depp’s children and worried he would lose his job if he did not comply with their demands.”

The court papers further state that, “Often times Plaintiffs were forced to protect [Depp] from himself and his vices while in public, becoming caretakers for him. A[n] incident at a local nightclub involved Plaintiffs alerting Depp of illegal substances visible on his face and person while preventing onlookers from noticing Depp’s condition.” However, the court papers do not elaborate on what the alleged substance was.

The suit also claims that the two guards were “exposed to unsafe conditions and situations” including an incident when Depp’s head of security accidentally shot himself in the leg “while playing with his weapon in a small control room on Johnny Depp’s property.”

The guards add: “As a result of the toxic and dangerous work environment and the constant labor code violations of their employers, Plaintiffs were forced to leave their employment despite the fact that they enjoyed many of the people they worked with and have no ill will toward Johnny Depp.”

Arreola and Sanchez are seeking unpaid overtime, wages, meal and rest break compensation and penalties as well as attorney fees plus damages. They’re being repped by Glendale, Calif., lawyer Tamar G. Arminak, whose clients have included Amanda Bynes’ family.

Separately, Depp’s been mired in a multi-complaint battle with his former managers at the Management Group that’s been raging for more than a year. That matter has an August trial date. He’s also suing his onetime lawyers at Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman LLP stemming from its dealings related to the Management Group. The firm has also countersued, while the Management Group has alleged, “Depp listened to no one, including TMG and his other advisors, and he demanded they fund a lifestyle that was extravagant and extreme” with expenses including his own private island.

But Depp’s accused his former managers of “gross mismanagement and sometimes outright fraud.”

Reps for Depp did not immediately comment.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post.