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Whitman Reaches Settlement With Former Housekeeper

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Former gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has agreed to pay her former housekeeper $5,500 in unpaid wages to settle a dispute that erupted in the final month of the campaign.

The settlement was reached Wednesday during a closed meeting at the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in San Jose. Whitman did not attend. Her husband, Dr. Griffith Harsh IV, attended with a family lawyer.

Nicky Diaz Santillan says she was satisfied with the agreement and that she spoke out because she did not want other housekeepers to face discrimination.

UPDATE: KNX 1070's Tom Reopelle Reports ICE Unlikely To Deport Diaz

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The Whitmans did not admit wrongdoing.

Whitman's campaign began to lose public support after it was revealed that her former housekeeper of nine years was an illegal immigrant. The former eBay CEO had portrayed herself as tough on immigration and said she fired Nicky Diaz Santillan when she discovered her status.

Allred said before the hearing that they had "irrefutable" evidence that Whitman owed Diaz Santillan between $8,000 and $10,000 in wages and mileage.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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