A technician terminated by the new owners of a California Honda store has sued for age discrimination and retaliation, accusing the store of bias against older technicians and questionable and unsafe service practices.
Alfredo Maldonado had worked at the store since 2013 under two previous franchisees, Ocean Honda and Robertson Honda, according to the complaint filed Dec. 12 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
It alleges the current dealership, North Hollywood Honda, terminated or forced the resignation of about a dozen of its 16 to 20 technicians, most of them over 40, after it acquired the store last June.
"Shortly after the defendants purchased the dealership, management and ownership implemented new policies and procedures that had a discriminatory effect on its older workforce, specifically the service technicians," the complaint said.
That included 43-year-old Malodonado, who was discharged last October.
"After each termination, the defendants then hired much younger, less experienced and lower-paid technicians to replace the ones it had fired," according to the suit. "Many, if not all, of the newly hired technicians were under the age of 30," and some allegedly lacked the "proper certification and/or license to perform some of the tasks assigned to them."
Dealer-principal Joe Shuster said he could not discuss the case.
Malodonado also said the company retaliated after he complained about possible safety hazards and "questionable, if not illegal, service practices when it misleadingly advised customers they needed to install new A/C condensers in their vehicles." He was given "less and less work assigned, which cost him financially" and created a hostile work environment, the suit said.
Maldonado's lawyer didn't respond to questions from Automotive News.
