Cynthia Begazo filed her suit in September 2015 against Passages Malibu where she alleged retaliation and age and disability discrimination. Begazo also named other defendants in her suit, including her former supervisor.
Begazo was 53 when she told her supervisors that she suffered from leukemia when she was hired in March 2015, according to the suit. In her first month at work, Begazo also reported that some maintenance workers, housekeepers and kitchen servers were not being paid overtime or getting meal or rest breaks, which state and federal laws require.
The co-founder at Passages Malibu contended that he fired Begazo because she failed to perform at her job and ignored his orders to meet with Passages Malibu centers’ managers. He also testified that Begazo failed to run her department appropriately and to help with recruiting.
Begazo took a week off in May 2015 due to an infection related to her leukemia illness and then returned to work two months later. The same day she returned to work she said she was fired.