A former food service worker at a senior citizen living facility in Northridge has chosen to resolve her claims through arbitration instead of a jury trial. Maria Del Angel alleges that she was wrongfully terminated for speaking out against a policy that required workers to speak only English and for reporting potential exposure to COVID-19 on the job. Her allegations against Brookdale Senior Living Communities Inc. include wrongful termination, employment discrimination, retaliation, breach of employment contract, negligent infliction of emotional distress, harassment, and failure to pay wages.
Judge Valerie Salkin has put the case on hold until the arbitration is settled, scheduling a status hearing for January 11. In a previous settlement, Brookdale agreed to pay $3.25 million to address allegations of disregarding patient discharge laws and providing false information to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Del Angel originally filed her lawsuit on February 17 and amended her complaint on May 16. She claims that she was hired in May 2020 and confronted her supervisor about an English-only sign in her workspace, despite other workers conversing in Tagalog. Shortly after her complaint, she was assigned to clean out a freezer, which she had not been trained or equipped for. This resulted in her falling ill due to the extreme temperature fluctuations.
The amended complaint also states that Del Angel’s supervisor harassed her based on her race or national origin and implied that her employment was contingent on pleasing the supervisor’s whims. Del Angel, facing limited job opportunities during the pandemic, reluctantly resigned but later discovered she had been exposed to COVID-19. When she reported her exposure, she was abruptly fired and denied pay for quarantine. Del Angel believes that Brookdale’s actions were in violation of company policy and argues that she was terminated in retaliation for her previous complaints.
Despite searching for a comparable position, Del Angel was unable to find one and settled for a job at a family-owned scrap metal business. The arbitration will determine the outcome of her case.
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