A Latino man who worked as a cook for a Yoshinoya restaurant in the Crenshaw District settled a lawsuit he brought against his former employer in which he alleged he was forced to quit in 2017 because of a harassing supervisor who once told him she "really wanted Donald Trump to win because he will throw you out of the country."
The allegations in Jose Lopez's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against the Japanese fast-food chain included discrimination, harassment, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention. His lawyers filed court papers with Judge Robert Draper stating the case was resolved, but no terms were divulged.
Lopez, born in El Salvador, was hired in August 2014 and was constantly chided for his accent by his boss, the suit alleged.
"You are a stupid ass because you don't know English," the supervisor -- whose ethnicity was not revealed in the complaint -- allegedly told Lopez.
The boss freely expressed her political views, often yelling out, "Build that wall," and she told Lopez, "I really wanted Donald Trump to win because he will throw you out of the country," according to the lawsuit filed in December 2017.
The supervisor also said "Latino immigrants should all go back to their country," the suit stated.
Lopez complained to upper management about the supervisor's alleged misconduct and his schedule was briefly changed in response, according to the complaint, but his hours were returned later to their former times and he was again subjected to her alleged taunting.
"He was told by company management that he needed to deal with it or leave," the suit alleged.
After Lopez hired a lawyer to help him deal with his issues with the company and the boss, a Yoshinoya manager met with Lopez and "threatened him with Homeland Security" if he didn't dismiss his claims against the store and his supervisor' according to the lawsuit.
Lopez was forced to quit in February, the suit stated.
