• 08
  • July
    2010

Jose Castellanos worked for most of his life at Coastside Scavenger, a California company providing trash hauling services to residents in the state. During his 37 years there, he advanced all the way up to the position of operations manager and, at one point, two of his sons also worked for the company.

However, all was not well at Coastside Scavenger, and Castellanos and his sons both noted instances of shoddy safety precautions, mechanical issues on some of the trucks and some questionable business decisions. In 2008, both of his sons were fired after they accused the company of "retaliatory treatment."

According to the elder Castellanos, soon after his sons were fired, he began to receive indications that company executives felt he should resign. His work performance, never questioned before, was heavily criticized and he was demoted from operations manager to lead mechanic.

In 2009, Coastside Scavenger fired Castellanos and, according to the lawsuit, at least one executive went out of her way to damage his reputation before he could apply for other jobs. Spokespeople for Recology of the Coast, who purchased Coastside Scavengers, have yet to comment on the lawsuit.

In his wrongful termination lawsuit, Castellanos also accuses the company of failing to adequately compensate him according to his earned pension.

Under California law, it is illegal to terminate any worker for reporting unsafe conditions or damaged equipment. Employers are also precluded from firing an employee as an act of retaliation for voicing these complaints, if they are valid.

Related Resource