A lawsuit against Howard Stern by former assistant Leslie Kuhn has resurfaced earlier allegations from his ex-staff about working conditions.. In 2023, Jackie Martling, John Melendez, and Steve Grillo claimed they were underpaid despite Stern’s fortune and said he often prioritized himself.. All three were employed by Howard Stern for years but left later after not getting raises despite the shock jock making a lot of money.. Howard Stern’s Ex-Staff Claims He Was Let Go After Asking For A Raise. MEGA. Amid Howard Stern being embroiled in a lawsuit from his former assistant, complaints made by his ex-staffers about the shock jock in a documentary have come back to light.. In 2023, Stern’s ex-employee, Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling, opened up in the Vice TV docuseries “Dark Side of the 2000s Shock Jocks” about how his former boss was “making countless millions of dollars” as the face of the show while much of the staff remained severely underpaid.. “It was frightening what was going on,” said Martling, who worked on Stern’s eponymous show as a cast member and writer from 1983 to 2001, per Page Six. “There was so much money coming in. It was crazy the amount of money.”. At the time, Martling shared that he couldn’t wrap his head around how Stern made no move to bump up his salary despite the relationship they shared, and that when he did request a raise, Stern chose to let him go instead.. “You are beyond rich and successful, and you have someone sitting next to you who makes you enjoy that job much more. And you let them go?” Martling also noted about his former boss. “Because he asked for more money? Especially when you’re friends. It boggles the mind.”. Other Ex-Staffers Also Complained About Being Underpaid By The Comedian. Ron Adar / M10s / MEGA. Martling wasn’t the only one to raise complaints about being underpaid, as the likes of John Melendez and Steve Grillo also made similar claims.. In Melendez’s case, he claimed that he only earned $20,000 when he began working with Stern and never went above $75,000. After leaving the show and working with Jay Leno, he earned around $350,000 to $400,000.. Meanwhile, Grillo claimed that his first few years on the show came with no pay, and that when he did start earning a salary, it was only minimum wage and did not fully cover all the hours he worked.. “I started getting paid about 30 hours a week, minimum wage, which was like $6.35 at that time,” he shared. “So I got paid for 30 hours, and I was working like 60.”. Howard Stern’s Ex-Staffer Slams Him Over Lack Of Support Despite Making A ‘Million Dollars An Hour’. MEGA. Just like Martling, Grillo claimed to have received no support from Stern when he reached out to the higher-ups to ask for a raise.. “You’re making a million dollars an hour, and I have to go work at a nightclub in order to survive,” Grillo reflected.. He continued, “And this is the moment I knew I was gonna leave. If th
