Wrongful Termination News
"Call an Attorney," Says California Labor Board
"I was hired as a desktop support specialist at Dell in November 2009 and everything was going well," said Bruce. "My supervisor said 'Don't be surprised if you are contacted to discuss a promotion to a much higher level' and this was great news.
"But it was short-lived. Right after New Year's I was hospitalized with heart irregularity and stayed there for almost two weeks. After one week of home rest, I went back to work. I was still receiving accolades, but my heart problem came back in February and it landed me in intensive care for a week. I was told to take it easy and I was in constant contact with my employer.
"At the same time, I was the 'guinea pig' regarding how to file disability benefits with the insurance company. My benefits were up in the air at this point because I was originally hired by Perot Systems, which was acquired by Dell - when I was sick.
"It took a few months to get benefits so I was very stressed-out, which didn't help my recovery. While I was in hospital this second time, the director of computer services for the Sacramento area (AKA big shot) visited me with a fruit basket, assuring me that I had a job to go back to and quit worrying??"my health was priority. I was on all kinds of meds, including antidepressants. My brain became Swiss cheese.
"I filed for California disability that gave me 60 percent of my wage and decided to recover in Hawaii where I had friends - I didn't know anyone in Sacramento. I made travel arrangements and arranged a return-to-work date with my doctor - May 15, 2010. (My insurance company has a copy of the return-to-work form.)
"I received a letter in Hawaii from Dell that said my position was being terminated effective May 14. I read the following:
"You have been on a leave of absence from Dell…due to the expiration of your approved leave and/or your absence of 6-plus months in a rolling 12-month calendar period, Dell can no longer continue to accommodate your extension of leave. We sincerely regret to inform you that your employment with Dell is now terminated."…this termination is not a reflection on you or your time at work with Dell. This is due to a review of the completed medical information stating your situation.
"From what I understood, they are within their rights to fire me because California is as an 'at-will state,' but when I contacted unemployment they asked me the reason why I was terminated and I explained it was because of a medical reason. I sent them a copy of Dell's letter and they approved my unemployment without question. That's when they suggested I call an attorney."
Further, by telling Bruce that he would be "eligible to re-apply when I am ready to return to work," the company may have dug open a wider door to litigation.
"Because of the Privacy Act, there is no way that Dell would know about my depression issues or how serious my heart problems are," Bruce explained. "I think the insurance company told Dell about my medications - the Privacy Act went out the window.
"And here's another thing: I was hired November 9, 2009, and my termination was effective May 14, 2010. I was hospitalized in January and terminated in May - I can do the math and that doesn't add up to six months. I didn't exceed 6-plus months of absence either. And I was terminated without severance pay - Dell simply considered me a liability because my medical condition sucks."
California Labor Law: Harassment Led to Suicide Attempt
Steve (not his real name) worked four years as a company mechanic until he couldn't take any more harassment. Steve's co-workers, who were much younger than he, thought it was all "fun and games," but not for Steve - he tried to commit suicide.
"My co-workers and supervisors tormented me with ridiculous questions, usually of a sexual nature," says Steve. "They asked if I would have sex with a 12-year-old for a million dollars; Would I have sex with the owner? They also accused me of being a child molester and deliberately trying to get me upset - maybe so they would feel better? They wouldn't let up and continued to antagonize me until I answered."
Steve eventually went to HR, complaining that this kind of behavior was not correct for employee relations. The HR manager then brought it to the attention of Steve's supervisors.
"Apparently about nine co-workers were told not to say anything more to me," says Steve, "but that got ridiculous. They wouldn't even respond to a 'good morning' from me, and three of them were told not to talk to me at all (a co-worker told me). My supervisors tried to put me on as many solo jobs as possible, but when I did have to interact with others, important information I needed wouldn't be given to me. 'I guess I will just make it up,' I said to them once…
"The pressure got to me and I called in sick on Monday, August 17, 2009. I called in sick again Tuesday and tried to commit suicide Tuesday night. I also called my parents and good friends and told them I was taking my life. I took a bottle of pills and hoped I would die on my bed. My sister somehow got me up but I told her I was going to get in my truck and drive into a tree. As I tried to open the garage door, my sister kept closing it. Eventually I was able to drive my truck through the door, drove as fast as I could - about 150 yards about 7:30 pm at night so all the neighbors saw - and drove into a pile of rocks. I don't remember any of this; I don't remember anything until I woke up in the hospital…
"My truck rolled and landed on top of me; luckily the paramedics were called immediately. They performed CPR all the way to the helicopter pad and I was flown to hospital, where I spent several days in a morphine state. I was not expected to survive.
"After my 12 weeks of family medical leave was up, I was terminated - on December 1, 2009. I didn't get disability insurance until March 2010. I am still on unemployment but recently got hired back with the same company for less than half of my wages: I was making $20 per hour and now I am making $9.25.
"Apparently, they were legally able to terminate me, but I'm going to hear what my California labor law attorney, Morris Nazarian, says. He is working on a contingency basis and is in the process of filing a harassment and hostile work environment lawsuit against the company. I am hoping to get justice from this lawsuit.
"I have 30 years of experience in this industry and what they allowed to happen is not right; people should not be allowed to say things about your sexual orientation. I think I was picked on because I tend to be more sensitive and I am also old enough to be their fathers, most of them anyway. And I think a lot has to do with my experience and management training - these young supervisors (my immediate supervisor was 31) didn't know how to deal with these situations and I warned them that they could be held liable.
"Since this happened, I've become very guarded when it comes to trusting people. Some of my friends and family have suggested that I drop this case because of the stress it will cause me, and it is very unlikely that it will settle right away. But it's a matter of principal more than anything else."
Steve is right, and he is standing up for his rights. Employers - and anyone for that matter - should be aware of the California labor code and they shouldn't get away with these violations; they have no idea how a hostile work environment, harassment and wrongful termination can destroy people's lives.
CA Labor Law: Fired While on Disability
Even though California is an "at will" state, disability discrimination applies to "at-will" employees like Robert. Employers may terminate workers on the basis of any type of behavior they deem unacceptable, although laws and court interpretations of these laws have protected some types of behavior when the employer's retaliatory action is deemed: 1) a violation of public policy; 2) a violation of an implied contract between the employer and the employee; or 3) an act of bad faith. An act of bad faith is the recognition of an employer's duty to treat employees fairly.
"My HR representative told me that I had to go into the office and fill out a leave of absence… I asked him to mail the form. Instead, I got a termination notice in the mail". Is it illegal for a company to fire Robert for applying for disability benefits after his doctor said he couldn't work for a month?
"My benefits were cut off because my disability manager, who represents my employer, claims my doctor wasn't sending the current diagnostics that they wanted," says Robert. "But my doctor said they mailed and faxed and emailed them - and I have proof.
"Last October my doctor said my blood pressure was sky-high and my heart was beating so fast I had to take time off, at least a month. I even wound up in the hospital for 10 days - I thought I was going to have a heart attack. (Luckily my benefits covered the hospital bills, well over $20,000.) I was supposed to return to work in November but my blood pressure was still up and down so my doctor said I shouldn't return to work until August 2011.
"My employer terminated me in July. My HR representative told me that I had to go into the office and fill out a leave of absence.
"'I can't come into the office because I am disabled,' I told him over the phone.
"'If you want to mess up your job, that's up to you,' he said.
"I asked him to mail the form. Instead, I got a termination notice in the mail. Apparently the boss at HQ said they had to fire me because I left on my own accord and I 'abandoned my job.' I have that in writing. I told my doctor that my benefits were terminated two months before I was fired; she said that I should get a lawyer ASAP.
"Finally I got a letter from my insurance company stating that I could qualify for COBRA but I need to respond right away because my insurance through Pitney Bowes, which covered short-term disability, was going to end soon. But through my payroll deductions I had paid into insurance for long-term disability (LTD) for the past seven years.
"I believe I was wrongfully terminated because my employer didn't want to pay my LTD - and I believe that is a violation of the California labor code. I have the employer manual that says I should be covered and it shows how much I have paid into the policy. This is so frustrating. I am currently collecting state disability, which is only $640 every two weeks."
Many employees are shocked to discover the lengths their employers will go to in order to justify termination. In Robert's case, he was also denied a rightful disability claim. An experienced attorney can assist California employees like Robert in seeking some form of remedy for California labor law violations, including compensation, job restoration, applying for benefits and appealing on their behalf if their long-term disability claim is denied.
Unionized California Home Workers Replaced with Non-Union Staff
The Contra Costa Times reports that about 150 members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers who are employed at the two senior care facilities staged a five-day strike starting Monday, August 2 and ending that Friday. The Times reported on 8/9/10 that the union had been bargaining since February over the terms of a new contract after the previous contract expired on April 30.
At the time of the strike, the workers were without a contract. It should be noted that a previous strike in 2007 lasted only two days, and that the employees returned to their jobs without incident.
This time, when employees returned to work on August 7, at least 38 workers at Piedmont Gardens were told their services were no longer required. They were granted a place in a "preferential rehire list," but they were out of a job.
It is reported the laid-off unionized workers were replaced with non-union employees. An attorney for the operator of the facilities, American Baptist Homes of the West, suggested the facility was required to replace the workers in the absence of any assurances from the union that the workers would stop striking.
However, a spokesperson for the unionized workers said that facility management was notified in advance of the strike and management assured the union that workers would not be fired.
"We've never had this problem before," said Gloria McNeal, a certified nursing assistant who has worked at Piedmont Gardens for 21 years. "But there was a different administration."
It was also reported that workers who were picketing on August 2 were complaining that the company targeted workers who voiced concerns with regard to management policies. Employees have allegedly been terminated for taking five or more sick days a year.
A spokesperson for the union, Jarad Kings, told local media that American Baptist Homes of the West violated federal labor laws by replacing unionized with workers with non-unionized staff. It remains to be seen whether any provisions of California labor law were violated, and whether or not the union or displaced workers launch legal action to pursue reinstatement. Both sides have expressed optimism that their differences could be resolved.
California Labor Violation—Illegal Drugs an Excuse for Termination
"I found out three weeks ago that I was getting fired - I am friends with the owner's brother," says Kevin, who managed the detail shop at a car lot. " That was Wednesday, my day off. On Thursday I confronted the two supervisors but they knew nothing about it and the owner was at a car auction.
After the supervisors said I wasn't going to be fired, they (obviously) spoke with the owner and Jeff, the shop manager, fired me the next day. He was almost in tears; he was really broken up about this. I called the owner after I was fired. He said we would talk when he got back from the auction but he never came back to work.
I was confused. I worked here for six years; I put my heart and soul into this place. I had a meeting with the supervisors and the general manager and I told them I was really upset: the owner said I was taking drugs. I have never missed a day's work, only when my mother died. I think he fired me because I asked for a raise a week beforehand. And he just hired a Spanish guy for $9 per hour; I was making $13 and asked for a $1 per hour raise. It had been more than two years since I talked about money and I was due for a raise.
I was the most loyal and dedicated employee at the car lot and there is no reason for this. I do take prescription drugs sometimes but never at work. You can look at my work records. Unfortunately California is an at-will state so he needed some excuse to terminate me. He certainly can't fire me for being late or not doing my job. People who do drugs don't work like me; showing up every day at 7am and never having a complaint.
I did work faster than anyone - you could ask any of my former co-workers, all 15 of them.
I have a family to support and it is not right that I am fired because he wants to save money. Morally this is wrong. I just can't believe he would do this and what makes me even madder is that he couldn't even do it himself.
It all boils down to economics when an employer doesn't want to pay you, but this decision to fire me is going to come back to haunt him financially because it would take two people to do my job. And I don't even know if this new employee is here legally…"
California Labor Law Attorney Helps Terminated Employee Win Appeal
"Due to the economy, there was much less work in my industry. I'm an appliance installer for big department stores such as Lowell's, so we typically pick up handyman plumbing work on the side," James explains.
"We never had a contract with Superior stating that this was against the rules. Our employee handbook mentioned nothing about conflict of interest.
"One Saturday, which is my day off, my friend Carol called to ask if I could fix her dishwasher leak. Carol had already called Lowe's, where she bought the dishwasher, but no luck. I suggested she call my company but they didn't return her call, so I helped??"as a friend, not as an employee of Superior or Lowe's.
"After I fixed the leak I noticed that her faucet was corroded. 'Sometime down the road you might want to replace it,' I told Carol. 'James, since you're here, please go ahead, and I'll pay for your time,' she said. I was reluctant, but she needed it done.
"To make a long story short, Curtis, the owner of Superior, found out. When I phoned Superior about my next job, I was asked to bring in my uniform because I was terminated. Curtis mentioned the faucet, but I knew it was more than that. For the past month there had been issues between us.
"Curtis had fired Shannon, a co-worker of mine, without just cause. I am a shareholder in the company, which means I was entitled to vote on whether Shannon should be fired. But I was on vacation, and they had a stalemate on the vote. When I came back to work they had to re-vote. Shannon is on medical leave, so how can he be fired? Curtis said he wasn't doing good work, but I didn't think it was right, so I voted 'no.'
"This decision created a rift between us; he just used the faucet incident to justify my termination.
"It was almost a relief to get fired because he was causing me so much grief. Then I filed for unemployment insurance and was denied. Turns out that Curtis filed a letter with unemployment saying that I had stolen money??"relating to the faucet incident. So I filed an appeal.
"Meanwhile, I had been job hunting for a few months??"I had no income and became desperate. I applied at Pacific Express, one of our competitors, and he hired me. But Curtis continued to haunt me. I know this is complicated, but in a nutshell, Curtis complained about me to Lowe's, which does business with Pacific Express. Lowe's put the pressure on Pacific Express to fire me.
"My attorney came over to Carol's house with me and drafted a letter regarding the faucet incident; Carol wrote that she insisted that I get compensated for my time. The judge reversed the decision and I got unemployment benefits dating back three months.
"My lawyer is now investigating the role that Lowe's had in my termination because I didn't work for that company.
"When you leave a job and have any qualms about an employee that should be the end of it. Instead, Curtis holds a grudge against me and wants retaliation for his own satisfaction. As it happens, Superior is closing. I can't say that I feel sorry for Curtis. He fired me almost a year ago so I had to pick up my W2, a record of my earnings and tax deductions. Curtis told me he mailed it weeks ago but I never got it??"yet another violation of the California labor law. Obviously his ship is going down but he still wants to make my life difficult."
Wrongfully Terminated, Contrary to California Labor Law
According to Anthony, this is what happened.
"It was 3.45 pm and I was getting off my shift in 15 minutes," Anthony says. "I worked in the electronics department with Amy (not her real name) and the department supervisor. Amy needed the keys to open the display case for a customer so I threw a lanyard (that the keys clip onto) on top of a glass display case in front of her. She said I threw the keys in her face and complained to my manager??"he was in the back of the store and didn't see this incident.
Amy never came back to our department and still had the keys on the lanyard around her neck. Instead she went to guest services and started talking to another co-worker.
I can't leave; my shift ends in 2 minutes and I have customers waiting for service. And I can't open up any of the display cases. I called Amy on the walkie-talkie and asked her politely to return the keys. Instead, she ignored me.
Now I am in a quandary: nobody is allowed to work overtime because of budget cuts and if I don't clock out at 4pm I can get written up.
I asked the customers to please wait; I clocked out and literally ran to get the keys from the front desk??"where Amy left them. I am now off the clock but I came back to electronics and helped those people who were patiently waiting for service. I started to ring up a purchase but my supervisor finished my transaction. As I was leaving the department, Amy approached me.
She got in my face??"she stepped in front of me and raised her voice.' I don't appreciate you talking to me the way you do, or throwing keys in my face,' she said. I didn't reply; I just walked away.
As I walked away, she yelled in front of customers, 'That's right, walk away like you and your little bitch-ass sister.' My department supervisor heard every word. I told her to keep my sister out of it and kept walking. (My sister is a department supervisor next door at Babies R Us and she was Amy's boss at one time.)
I walked to the back of the store to tell my manager what happened and he said, 'OK, I will handle it'.
They gave me the next two weekends off and Amy had one week off while they were investigating the situation. I was never asked for a statement, nor did I receive a phone call stating that I wasn't on the schedule that week. I had to find out from a co-worker. On January 25 I called to find out my next shift and another employee told me I wasn't on the schedule. I called back January 27 to speak with Bob, the manager. Bob said he would call me back??"he never called.
I called the next day and spoke with another manager; he said he was busy and would call me back. Guess what??"no call back. On January 29th, I spoke with Bob again. He told me to work a shift on January 31 at 4pm. Instead of working, I was hauled into the office and terminated by Bob and another manager. They told me to take off my uniform and badge; I walked out of the office and I was done. Nothing to sign, no good-byes…
Their reason for firing me was that they couldn't have another incident like this happen again. They asked for my supervisor's statement, my sister's statement, and Amy's statement, but they never asked me for a statement. It was one-sided.
Not only was I wrongfully terminated; I also feel discriminated against. Amy sold more instant credits, so maybe they thought she was a better worker. We were both seasonal employees but both of us had made the cut to stay on for the rest of the year, so this was quite a blow to me??"I have nothing else to fall back on. With the economy the way it is, I am still looking for work and probably don't qualify for unemployment insurance.
And another thing: The day I was fired, I was given my final paycheck but it was short 2 hours of pay. I was owed for an 8-hour and a 4-hour shift but they only paid me 10 hours. I didn't open my check until I left the building. I called back, requesting documentation of my termination. HR said she would call me back the next day."
You guessed right, Anthony never got a return call. This is an appalling way to treat employees, particularly an 18-year-old's first job. Fortunately, the California Labor Law is in place to protect employees from wrongful termination and discrimination.
Anthony believes this company owes him and his sister an apology, two hours of pay, and his job back??"at the very least.
California Labor Law: "I was Wrongfully Terminated"
And Colleen intends to pursue it. Not only was she wrongfully terminated; she was also humiliated. Her boss called her into the HR office and said, "The hospital and our company are in agreement that a change in leadership has to happen so we are terminating you."
"I was numb," says Colleen. "My ears were ringing; it was so surreal that I couldn't even think. Then my boss handed me my final paycheck and told me to clear out my desk. They had security come into my office along with the VP of HR; they stood there in front of me while I packed my belongings??"while the staff and doctors looked on."
Colleen was the director of a wound care program. She explains that her position involved a triad where 2 other managers help and collaborate with her: one is the medical director and the other is the clinical manager, but Colleen has overall responsibility for the outcome of the clinic, above and beyond the two managers.
But they didn't help her; instead Colleen found herself working 60-hour weeks, 7 days a week. To make matters worse, both managers were living together: nepotism is usually a recipe for disaster. "I found this out on my first day of work," says Colleen," and my boss confirmed it was true. This is a small hospital; if an employee has a problem with one manager, how do you go to the other one with a complaint?
"The medical director let me know early on that he didn't want this position; he proved that by doing nothing except collect a paycheck; meanwhile the VP of nursing called me into her office and said, 'You need to know the clinical manager has some problems with this hospital'. And I was trying to get this new clinic going??"not having either of them doing their work caused me a lot of grief, to say the least.
Anyway, I got the clinic going by myself, without their help. But I told my boss that we would likely have problems when we go operational. She told me to start a disciplinary documentation process, which I did. The clinical manager had never been disciplined in the past so it might look like my inability to work with them, but the VP of HR and the VP of nursing told me to document everything meticulously, which I did, with witnesses present.
After 6 months of dragging this elephant up the hill, the VPs suggested the clinical manager take another position in the hospital, which she did, but she also told the VP of HR that I had created a hostile work environment. They investigated but it didn't bear out her claims.
The VP of nursing moved to another hospital and I reported to a new boss who didn't know about these issues-- that I never had any help or support. But because we had personnel issues, they terminated me. I have a stellar performance record, despite all the obstacles. And I was exhausted, mentally and physically because they refused to give me time off, they knew I was the only game in town, I was the only one getting the job done.
The only reason they gave to terminate me was that they wanted new leadership. I believe it was because my new boss panicked: if we didn't get the staff under control we would lose the contract with the hospital. So she blamed me??"it was easier. This hospital is union and in my opinion, it cultivates an environment of poor work ethic. I expected people to show up and work for 8 hours, not sit around and read magazines and gossip.
My termination is beyond comprehension. The other directors I worked with are in shock??"they couldn't believe it. I had great relationships in that hospital and I exceeded the national standards of my company. But my new boss thought she might loose the contract; I believe she was overwhelmed with her new job and rather than deal with everyone else's bad behavior, I was fired.
In the past two days I've been busy getting my resume together. I am going to the labor board this week to file a grievance and my next step is to seek legal help."
California Labor Law: No Right to Terminate
In Mark's words, this is what led up to his termination…
"An incident occurred regarding a shipment that was supposed to be carriered (large shipments are carried, not couriered) to a customer—I was the logistics coordinator for the company. But the wrong carrier was used; it was a small shipment—six pallets totaling 2,000 lbs from Canada to the US. The carrier that was assigned to the shipment did not have a discount in place on behalf of the client and the wrong carrier was used because it gave us (which would be reflected on to our client) the better rate. I had no knowledge of the shipment—somebody else arranged the other carrier.
The client told my boss that they spoke to me directly about this shipment; they said that I told them our shipment is outdated and that is why the wrong carrier was used. I disputed that with my boss—I never spoke to the client. The shipment ended up costing about $3,000 more than it should have. We don't record incoming routing calls so anybody could have made that decision but my name was attached to the paperwork so the client just assumed that they spoke with me.
After this happened, I did some research and determined the options: we would be able to change the billing code and charge it back to the vendor who had a discount with the shipper; they would pre-pay and add those charges and send it to the customer. The discount would have been fine: everybody would have been happy with the outcome.
But my boss told me that the shipment had already been paid for by the client and there was no way to make any changes. During my investigation of this incident, I spoke with the carrier who offered to make the change and I was never told by the carrier that the shipment was pre-paid.
In the grand scheme of things, I think my bosses were looking for an excuse to fire me and they used this incident as reason for termination. I have a few ideas about why they wanted me out:
1. I was the second highest-paid employee in the department and getting rid of me would have saved them a substantial amount of money;
2. They wanted me out to leave a position open for family members or friends they started to employ—in fact they hired two friends of my former boss today.
On Friday, May 23rd I was called into a meeting with two VPs and a rep from HR. They sat me down and said, 'We have to let you go; this incident is the straw that broke the camel's back.' They also said it came all the way from the top—the decision was made by the owner of the company.
I was in total shock! I worked for this company for 19 years—I am 48—and I was a faithful, loyal and hard-working employee all these years.
To be honest, in all those years I had two write-ups against me; one for being too loud in the office—I was arguing with a carrier about their rate and defending our client—and the other issue was this: we did a rate study for clients and one of the rates was questioned. I was asked to research how the rate was determined so I called the carrier that gave the rate but they couldn't give an answer until three days later. So my boss wrote me up for not following up in a timely manner. I had no control over that.
To me it all sounds so petty—like we were in grade school.
I was not given the opportunity to question their decision. Right away, I sent an email to your lawyer at LawyersandSettlements and was told by my employer to file for unemployment.
And here is another thing: they withheld money from my bonus check years ago: I had to cancel a carrier 24 hours prior to pickup and the carrier incurred a $700 charge which was passed on to my company. That charge was then deducted from my check. That's not even the half of it. Another time they took $1300 from my check: I was legally within company rules but the customer who received the shipments refused to pay. A large freight cost was then deducted from the salesman's paycheck and mine. According to them, they checked with their attorney and they were within their rights. Were they?
Now I am obviously unemployed as of May 23, 2008 and my next step is to find out if I have any recourse."
California Labor Law: The Busboy, 62, is Fighting Back
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages and compensation for various breaches of California labor laws, including emotional distress, pain and suffering, unpaid wages, meal and rest periods denied, statutory penalties, interests, and attorney's fees.
Ricardo Hernandez would have been 27 when he started work at the pancake house, and became a dedicated, loyal and model employee. However, that all appeared to change after he filed a complaint against the restaurant with regard to unlawful wage practices with the US Department of Labor.
His lawyers maintain that the restaurant's action against Hernandez is a classic case of retaliation against a whistleblower. It is alleged that the pancake house directed a number of actions and circumstances against Hernandez designed to force him to quit. When he didn't take the hint, the restaurant summarily fired him without just cause, warning or even an explanation.
Imagine working at the same place for 35 years, only to be told one day that your services are no longer needed. You're 62. Imagine the toll that would take on your life, and your emotional well-being.
Those in his corner maintain that Hernandez was treated deplorably.
According to the complaint, management started to become highly critical of Hernandez shortly after he filed the report with the US Department of Labor (the alleged wage violation was not identified). Along with unfounded accusations and stricter regulations relating to his work, his hours were reduced??"and when he did work overtime, it has been reported, he was not paid an amount that would have represented an overtime rate.
There are various statutes and requirements governing California labor law overtime.
It is alleged that he was required to work without rest or meal breaks (remember, Hernandez is 62)??"an alleged violation of California labor law breaks. There were, according to his lawyers, a constant barrage of comments and complaints relating to 'old age' and 'poor vision.'
Just before he was fired, Hernandez was demoted to busboy after 35 years with the employer. He was let go in October of last year.
Hernandez filed a formal complaint of discrimination against the International House of Pancakes with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. A 'right-to-sue' notice was issued on November 16th, and on March 19th of this year Hernandez filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Orange County Superior court.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit were MD Hope Corporation, a franchisee of International House of Pancakes, and its owner Sammy Saeed Medali.
Among the alleged violations are Age Discrimination and Perceived Disability Discrimination, Wrongful Termination, Failure to Pay Overtime Compensation, and various other Labor Code violations.
In the end they thought Hernandez would just take the bus and go home. In reality, the busboy is fighting back and looking forward to his day in court.
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