New military service discrimination complaint filed

COMPLAINT FOR:

• DISCRIMINATION IN VIOLATION OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT OF 1994
• VETERAN OR MILITARY STATUS DISCRIMINATION IN VIOLATION OF GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 12955

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

1.  On or around September 29, 2022, Plaintiff went for an interview at Defendant’s Southern California office located at 1669 Hale Avenue Irvine CA 92606.   
2. Plaintiff arrived for his 11 a.m. interview a few minutes early.  Upon arrival, Plaintiff was greeted by a woman from the Human Resources (“HR”) department, who explained to Plaintiff what the job position entailed.  She stated that Plaintiff would be meeting one of Newport’s managers, Armando Zavala. 
3. The HR woman escorted Plaintiff over to a conference room in another building where they sat down and discussed the employment position.  She explained that work is mandatory on Saturdays because Plaintiff would be at the “bottom of the totem pole and that the position was Union”.  Plaintiff mentioned to the HR woman that he was an active member of the military.
4. The HR woman then introduced Plaintiff to Mr. Zavala. 
5. Plaintiff and Mr. Zavala went into a conference room to discuss the employment opportunity.
6. After Mr. Zavala echoed the HR woman’s explanation of the job position, and added that the position paid $25/hr, Plaintiff mentioned to Mr. Zavala that Plaintiff attended drill one weekend out of every month to fulfill his military duties. 
7. Plaintiff further mentioned to Mr. Zavala that Plaintiff would be receiving “orders” that he can submit to Defendant so that Defendant can accommodate Plaintiff’s military schedule. 
8. Mr. Zavala responded that Defendant could not move forward with the position due to “Plaintiff’s military service interreference with the job”, even though he thought that Plaintiff was a “great candidate for the position with strong customer service skills”.
9. Mr. Zavala then proceeded to conclude the interview, and escorted Plaintiff out of the building. 

DEFENDANT: Newport Meat Southern California.