Mechanic says he was fired during quarantine

A Georgia dealership illegally fired a technician while he was on medical leave for COVID-19, a federal suit alleges.

Yu Chieh "Jerry" Yang contends Mike Rezi Nissan in Atlanta wrongly discharged him during his quarantine period and retaliated against him.

The dealer, Mike Rezi, disputed the allegations, telling Fixed Ops Journal: "While we do not normally comment on pending litigation, we can share that many employees took leave for COVID and none were terminated for taking such leave. Many of these employees continue to work for the dealership today."

Rezi said Yang's separation "had absolutely nothing to do with him taking a leave."

According to the suit, Yang was hired in 2018 and earned $120,000 in his first year.

The suit for compensatory and punitive damages, back pay and benefits alleges that a supervisor sent him home when he tested positive Oct. 6, 2020, two days before the dealership hired a new regional fixed ops manager. Yang quarantined for 14 days, was paid for his time off and was cleared to work after a negative test, the suit says.

When he returned Oct. 20, the new regional manager allegedly terminated him without explanation, paperwork or a separation notice, the suit says.

Yang spoke to the dealership's human resources manager, who allegedly was unaware of the discharge.

Two days later, he received an email with a separation notice dated Oct. 12, when he was quarantined, the suit says.

Rezi said the dealership "is confident it will prevail in defending itself."

A technician who took a leave of absence to care for his wife, who is disabled, and suffered an on-the-job injury soon after returning to work has filed a discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination suit against Hello Auto Group, a Southern California dealership group.

Edwin Torossian was hired in December 2019, according to the suit, and hurt his back a month after his leave of absence ended. The suit alleges his service manager pressed him not to file a workers' compensation claim.

Hello Auto Group has six Subaru, Mazda and Kia stores, but the suit does not identify which of them Torossian worked at.

Torossian was told he had used up all the time he was entitled to under the Family and Medical Leave Act and was wrongfully fired while on medical leave, the suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges. Torossian seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Hello Auto Group Marketing Director Samantha Morrow and Torossian's lawyer, James Demerjian, of Glendale, Calif., declined to discuss the case.