(Newser) – A housekeeper who used to work for Meg Whitman claimed that the candidate for governor knew she was an illegal alien but kept her employed. Nicky Diaz, who worked for Whitman from 2000 to 2009, made the accusations during a press conference today with lawyer Gloria Allred, the LA Times reports. Allred said Whitman caused Diaz to "feel exploited, disrespected, humiliated, and emotionally and financially abused." She said Whitman fired Diaz only when she decided to run for office.



The Whitman camp struck back at the accusations with copies of documents—given to TMZ—which seem to show that Diaz lied about being an illegal immigrant on an application form for the housekeeper position. Whitman maintains that Diaz lied when she was hired and was promptly fired when she admitted her offense 9 years later. "I believe Nicky is being manipulated by Gloria Allred for political and financial purposes during the last few weeks of a hotly contested election," Whitman said.

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