Flipping Out: Jeff Lewis Violates State and Federal Employment Laws on Film. Will Former Job Candidates File a Class-Action Lawsuit?

On the most recent episode of Flipping Out, Jeffrey Lewis interviews an employee and commits several infractions of state and federal labor law. If you've ever applied for a job with Jeff Lewis, now may be the time to find a few other people in the same boat and file a class-action lawsuit.

While interviewing his latest employee, Lewis violated at least five state and federal labor laws according to the State Bar of California. Among the infractions:

1. Jeff Lewis asked the job candidate his age. Not allowed.

2. Jeff Lewis asked the job candidate his marital status. Not allowed

3. Jeff Lewis asked the job candidate if he had plans to have children. Not allowed.

4. Jeff Lewis asked the job candidate if he'd ever been arrested. Not allowed. (An employer can legally ask if you have been arrested and are still facing trial on criminal charges for that arrest. And employers can generally ask if you've ever been convicted of a crime. )

Less problematic, Lewis also asked whether or not the candidate could legally work in the United States (the question was phrased in such a way that it would not be allowable). Lewis also asked the candidate what social clubs he belonged to (not allowed).

Of course, Lewis avoided asking any questions about actual job performance. It's pretty clear that Jeff Lewis was trying to have a little fun by intentionally asking every illegal job interview question he could. But will this publicity stunt backfire on him?

After all he's hired an awful lot of cute young guys for all the wrong reasons. His latest intern, for example, was required to send a picture before even getting an interview. And Lewis openly admits to only wanting 'pretty people' working for him.

This may be just the evidence needed by qualified job-candidates who have been turned down by Jeff Lewis. I say sue the man for all he's worth.

Real Housewives, Real Eviction Notices. Is Kim Next?

The Bravo Real Housewives franchise is based on showing the lifestyles of rich & fabulous women, but when it comes to the Real Housewives of Atlanta, these girls are faux-money or just plain no money. And now that "housewife" Kim Zolciak is no longer "entertaining" the married man who was financing her lifestyle, she may be the next one to get an eviction notice.

It all started with Housewife NeNe Leakes. She and her husband were evicted from the Duluth home her husband in September 2008. Husband Greg Leakes owed $6,240 in back taxes.

Next came housewife Sheree Whitfield got her eviction notice in December 2008. Her ex-husband Bob Whitfield had apparently not been making mortgage payments on her Sandy Spring residence, and Sheree, who could normally win awards for her level of self-involvement, was not paying attention to her own finances.

Now Lisa Wu Hartwell, who already had to file for bankruptcy in 2007, has been forced to sell her home after she and her husband defaulted on their loan, TMZ Reports. Hartwell, however, is better off than Sheree and NeNe. She and her husband have a second home they actually OWN they were able to move into.

Forget Prada. Forget Dolce & Gabbana. These women can't even pay their mortgages.

Will Housewive Kim Zolciak be the next evicted housewive? Maybe. Maybe Not. You might think her over-the-top spending sprees, like spending $3,000 on clothes for her daughter, will quickly put this single mom in the poorhouse. But rumor is that Kim's spending sprees are strictly for the camera. Most of the merchandise get's returned the next day. (If there's anything more pathetic than spending $3,000 on kiddie clothes in one hour, it's PRETENDING to spend $3,000 on kiddie clothes in one hour to impress your TV audience).

And of course, Kim Zolciak has been very clear that she's ready, willing, and able to poise for playboy for the right price, so maybe that can make up for the cash she's not longer getting from 'Big Poppa'.

Women & People of Color First to Go on Top Chef

If you've been watching Top Chef Las Vegas, you can't help but notice the obvious. As women and people of color are voted off the show week after week, the contestant pool is increasingly becoming a "good old boy network" much like the top-tier of chefs that serve as guest judges on the show.

But is this intentional or accidental? It all depends on your perspective. A couple of things are clear. A member of the Hindu faith who does not eat or cook beef for religious reasons will never win Top Chef. A member of the Muslim faith who does not eat pork for religious reasons will never win Top Chef. And of course, Vegetarians are completely screwed in this competition.

Women are more likely to be vegetarian. Some people of color don't cook or eat meat for religious reasons. Meat-centric challenges, like this most recent episode focusing on 'classic french proteins', are inherently biased against women and people of color, and one of the reasons Top Chef Las Vegas is rapidly becoming a club for (mostly closeted) white-men only.

These challenges favor contestants who work with meat and are knowledgeable about european cooking techniques and are biased against contestants who may specialize in other ethnic cuisine. When have we seen a Thai Cooking Challenge on Top Chef? An Ethiopian Cooking Challenge?

And selecting a guest-panel of white male judges only makes matters worse.

It seems a particularly cruel joke to recruit a crew of 'Cheftestants' who are diverse in gender, race, and ethnicity, and then set up a series of challenges and select a series of guest judges that stack the odds in favor of the white men.

Top Chef, you can do better!

We Liked Mr. Bravo Before We Found Out He Was a Bitchy Queen

Once upon a time Andy Cohn was King of all things Bravo. We loved Mr. Bravo's winning smile. We loved the way he made well-tailored suits look hip and young again. We loved the grace and skill he separated angry housewives. And yes, he always seemed to ask the right questions, but he did so with a sense of bemused detachment. It made us feel like we were part of an inside joke. Innocent fun. And he never, ever, ever, seemed to take himself too seriously.

But as Andy Bravo has transitioned to his own talk show, all that has changed. He is more like the reality cartoon characters he interviews and less like one of us. Suddenly, he seems to care a little too much about who has a weave and who has had work done. And the fan-questions he used to ask apologetically, hew now embraces enthusiastically.

All this new-found intensity is ... well ... a bit unsettling. We always thought Andy had ... well ... a life! Taking reality TV too seriously robs the experience of it's inherent frivolous fun, and reminds us that being too into reality TV is a bit sad.

To make matters worse, Andy Cohen has a segment on his show where he shares his opinions variety of topics. We never new our sweetly smiling Andy could be such a bitter, nasty, queen. He's ridiculed people with weight issues. He's ridiculed nerds. It's all a bit much to handle. We never new such meanness could be delivered with Andy's signature on-air smile, and now, every time we see his smile, we do so with a bit of suspicion.

Andy seems oblivious to his fact that some of his audience are nerds, are overweight, lack perfect bodies and a New York fashion budget. When Andy attacks these people, he's attacking us.

We've gone from being inside on the joke, to being the brunt of it. It hurts, much like it hurts to watch Cohen fit into this new one-sided reality show persona.

We love you Andy. Please come back to us. Oh, and forget anything Isaac Mizrahi tells you about socks. It doesn't matter how much lotion you put on your feet, not wearing socks is a unsanitary!

Top Chef Forces Contestants into Binary Gender System

Just when you start to think the folks at Bravo really get the gays, they do something to mess it up, like Top Chef Season Six Episode 2.

This episode, where contestants are "forced to compete in teams of men vs. women" was a failure to grasp gender and sexuality studies 101. In a time where everyone from Elizabeth Birch to Caster Semenya are broadening our understanding of gender, Top Chef does the opposite.

Does the top chef contestant pictured on the left identify as male or female? I sure don't know. I've never met Preeti and frankly, it's none of my business.

What I do know, however, is that when you separate the "boys" and the "girls", there are almost always some folks who don't fit neatly into either category, and there are almost always some folks who are hurt in the process. And Preeti sure seemed pretty pissed about the decision for the men to compete against the women.

Top Chef really should have been able to figure this one out on their own.

Alleged Annorexic Rachel Zoe and Sidekick Brad Taylor Taunt Employee for Having Normal Size Breasts

The current episode of the Rachel Zoe project gives us a glimpse at just how messed up Hollywood is when it comes to body image. Wee get to see alleged Annorexic Rachel Zoe and her gay sidekick Brad Taylor taunt Taylor for not being able to fit into a dress because her breasts are too big.

In a normal workplace, teasing an employee about her breast size would be sexual harrasment, not to mention, gosh darn mean. But in Zoe land, apparently not so. Zoe managed to hand over a trite apology without fully understanding what she had said that was inappropriate. Zoe thinks that Taylor must be desperately envious of women with smaller breasts. Really?

Taylor, you are beautiful just the way you are. Rachel is the one who is completely messed up.

But what's really revealing about this incident is what it says about Rachel Zoe's distorted perceptions about body size.

Jill Zarin - Off With Her Head!

A ticket to Jill Zaran's charity event: $250. Her most recent courture gown for the event: $30,000. The purse she will take with her: $16,000. Jill Zarin being challenged about her excessive spending during an economic crisis: Priceless.

Normally Jill Zarin is the housewife we don't hate, but lately, Jill Zarin's relationship with money has become hard to endure. Making the situation worse was Zarin's costume choice for an exclusive Manhattan Halloween Party shown on this week's episode. Jill seemed completely unaware that the idea of a embarassingly rich Manhattan socialitie dressing up as Marie Antoinette in the middle of the greatest economic crisis of our lifetime was the wrong way to go. Marie Antoinette could not relate to the plight of the poor, and it look's like Jill Zarin can't either. Off with her head!

In previous episodes of the Real Housewives of New York City this season, we've watched Jill Zarin drop $16,000 on a single purse, $30,000 on a single dress, and approximately $90,000 on a brand new Mercedes SUV. She's spent more money on the show than most American families would earn in two years time.

In a BBC interview, Jill is asked some hard questions about her privilege and comes up with some embarssing answers. Jill was quick to point out the charity work that she does and the $50,000 she raised at an event for charity.

Let's be honest though, raising that kind of money would be a remarkable achievement for most of us. For Jill Zaran it is the price of one designer gown (she may never wear again) and the $16,000 purse to go with it. Organizing a $250 per person charity event seems a bit hollow when your outfit costs more than the total amount of money you raise. Again, for the average joe, a $250 per person event is a big deal, for a socialite like Jill Zarin though, it's pocket-change.

Note to Zaran: to whom much is given, MUCH is required.

What is truly shocking about this episode however, is the look on Zarin's face when the BBC reporter asks her about her lavish lifestyle in the midst of a financial crisis. Honestly, the expression on her face was one of suprise, almost as if the thought had never, ever, occurred to her before. That was the most disappointing of all.