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Former Jovenes De Antano executive director Danny Barrera is suing the nonprofit alleging violations of labor laws, including discrimination, wrongful termination and breach of employment contract.
Barrera, who did not respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment, is requesting an unspecified amount in damages, unpaid wages and civil penalties, according to the lawsuit.
“As a direct and proximate result of the foregoing acts and omissions by defendants, plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer from a loss of earnings and employment benefits, in addition to humiliation, mental anguish, and severe emotional distress,” the lawsuit reads.
Board president Tami Cook-Erickson said that Barrera and 14 other employees were laid off on June 30 after the organization lost two key contracts to provide senior services including meals and transportation after decades of doing so.
“We laid off 15 employees due to loss of funds,” she said. “One employee chose to come back and litigate that process.”
Cook-Erickson declined to comment further because the matter is under litigation.
According to the lawsuit filed Oct. 24 in San Benito County Superior Court, Barrera claims he worked 11- to 15-hour days without overtime compensation. He also alleges Jovenes De Antano did not provide benefits per his employment contract for the majority of his employment.
“In or around October 2024, defendants made a partial payment of approximately $7,000 for the value of the unpaid benefits, thereby acknowledging their obligation,” Barrera states in the lawsuit. “However, a significant balance of $8,665.85 for the value of unpaid benefits remains outstanding.”
He goes on to say the workload deprived him of timely and uninterrupted lunch and rest breaks.
Barrera also claims Jovenes De Antano did not provide a board-approved $16,000 severance package at the time of his termination and that Cook-Erickson “intentionally concealed” the existence of this obligation.
“Instead she presented plaintiff with a misleading ‘severance agreement’ that was, in fact, a general release of claims, and attempted to coerce him into signing it and a subsequent arbitration agreement,” according to the lawsuit.
Based on the contents of the lawsuit it’s unclear if Barrera claims he didn’t receive the severance pay at all or if he alleges it was not done in a timely manner.
Santa Monica-based Laurel Employment Law, which represents Barrera, did not immediately respond to a call for clarification.
Barrera also alleges Jovenes De Antano discriminated against him because it failed to provide accommodations for his “dangerously high blood pressure” which he says he developed in May because of excessive work hours and work-related stress.
He said he provided medical documentation to the board from his physician placing him “on an immediate, mandatory medical leave.”
Barrera says he continued to perform functions on an almost daily basis throughout his medical leave.
In May, Barrera and several seniors who received meal services from Jovenes De Antano attended a Hollister City Council meeting to share their concerns about losing funding and potentially having to move out of the Pauline Valdivia Memorial Community Center.
Barrera’s claims in the meeting were later disputed by Cook-Erickon, who said the nonprofit aimed to continue to operate out of the center located near downtown Hollister.
Barrera states in the lawsuit that his medical leave was extended through June 30, the day he was terminated.
“This adverse employment action demonstrates clear temporal proximity to plaintiff exercising his right to take medical leave and constitutes retaliation under Government Code section 12940(h),” the lawsuit states.
A case management conference is scheduled for Feb. 9 at 10:30 a.m. in San Benito County Superior Court.
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