IN February 2010, Cable’s Restaurant in Woodland Hills, CA was acquired by GACN, Inc. During the acquisition, the employer promised that veteran servers Martha Aboulafia (57 years-old), Cheryl Colgin (57), Patricia Monica (66), Lesi Clothier (55), Patricia Long (74), and Regina Greene (47) will be able to keep their positions. Unknown to the servers, the employer at that time was already advertising for replacements. Two days after the acquisition, Aboulafia, Colgin, Monica, Clothier and Long were fired. Greene was fired a few months later. The employer then filled all of the positions with inexperienced employees in their 20s.
The employees sued the employer for wrongful termination and age discrimination, among other things. The servers sought to recover their lost wages, and emotional distress and punitive damages. Prior to trial, two servers (Long and Clothier) settled. The four remaining servers proceeded to trial. During trial, former employees testified on behalf of the servers. They talked about the employer’s practice of terminating older workers and replacing them with younger workers.
The employer argued that it decided to lay off Aboulafia, Colgin and Monica because of their performance. The employer denied age discrimination saying that they have kept other employees who are 45 to 75 years old. The employer argued that Greene was terminated because she was suspected of reporting to work drunk. However, in denying Greene’s unemployment benefits, the employer said she quit without giving notice.
A jury of 12 persons listened to all the testimonies. After deliberating for less than 2 hours, all 12 jurors decided in favor of the employees and awarded them a total $1.68 million for lost wages and emotional distress. The jury also found that the employer acted with fraud, oppression or malice and awarded each of the four servers $1 million in punitive damages. The employer has filed an appeal, which is currently pending.
Because employment in California is considered to be “at-will,” an employer may legally terminate an employee at any time and for no reason at all, even if the employee’s job performance was excellent. However, a termination may become illegal if motivated by discriminatory intent and targets an employee’s protected characteristic such as age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, medical condition, or pregnancy.
In the above case, the jury decided that the employer targeted the servers because of their age, and used this as a reason to fire them. The law requires employers to evaluate employees on the basis of their abilities and not their age. Employers cannot use age-based stereotypes or unsupported generalizations about the qualifications or job performance of persons who are 40 years or older. The law also protects against forced retirement based on advanced age.
An employer who illegally fires an employee is liable to pay the following damages: back wages, future lost pay (if the employee cannot find a comparable job after the illegal firing), damages for pain and suffering, and attorneys’ fees and court costs. If a non-governmental employer acted with oppression, fraud, or malice against an employee, the latter may additionally recover punitive damages, as was the case with the four servers.
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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.