News Release
Contact:
Christopher Herrera, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
415.593.0071 |
Merritt Bakery Sued for Disability Discrimination
Man Claims He Was Fired After Having Seizure
Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center, EEOC Bring Lawsuit
(SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 8, 2011) – An Alameda County resident today brought disability discrimination claims against Merritt Bakery, a 60-year-old restaurant and local institution in the Lake Merritt district of Oakland, Calif. The federal lawsuit alleges that restaurant worker Jerry Gallon was fired for having a seizure at work in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The case, EEOC v. McKinney Griff, Inc., dba Merritt Restaurant and Bakery, was filed in the Northern District of California by the San Francisco District Office of the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center is intervening in the case on behalf of Mr. Gallon.
From January 2009, Mr. Gallon worked as a cook in the kitchen at Merritt. The lawsuit charges that on September 2, 2009, after several hours of high-paced work filling large catering orders as well as orders from the restaurant diners, Mr. Gallon informed his manager that he felt a seizure coming on and that he needed to take a break from work and go home. His manager refused.
According to Mr. Gallon, he suffered a seizure a few minutes later in front of a co-worker. Mr. Gallon then fell to the ground breaking his glasses. While Mr. Gallon was on the ground, he had another seizure in front of owner Charles Griffis. He had a third seizure in an ambulance en route to the hospital. These were Mr. Gallon’s first seizures in more than five years. He was admitted to Highland Hospital for emergency care and released shortly after midnight on September 3, 2009.
Immediately thereafter, Mr. Gallon’s scheduled hours at the restaurant were reduced. On September 16, 2009, Mr. Griffis refused to provide Mr. Gallon with information about workers’ compensation coverage for the ambulance bill. On September 18, 2009, Mr. Gallon was fired. Although the reason he was given was that “business was slow,” the restaurant subsequently hired additional workers.
“I am an experienced cook who happens to have a disability,” said Mr. Gallon. “After my termination, I had to move in with a friend and go on food stamps. I didn’t even get enough money to fix my glasses.”
Mr. Gallon’s attorney Claudia Center, Director of the Disability Rights Program at the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center, stated, “Merritt Bakery has been around for a long time, but so has the Americans with Disabilities Act and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. And it is long past the time for local businesses to comply with basic nondiscrimination requirements.”