Court OKs lawsuit by fired worker
Popular Manhattan Beach garbageman may proceed with his discrimination case, an appeals panel rules.
Gilberto Santillan, 58, became a beloved figure in Manhattan Beach during 32 years of hauling garbage there.
If residents forgot to roll their cans to the curb, Santillan sometimes did it for them. He once jumped out of his truck to help a pregnant woman struggling with her can on the driveway.
The children so admired Santillan that one child’s birthday cake was decorated with a green garbage truck. Another dressed as Santillan on Halloween because the boy considered the garbageman a hero.
When USA Waste of California Inc. first fired Santillan in 2011, more than 500 people in the upscale beachside community wrote letters imploring the company to reinstate him.
The community’s bond with the garbageman was portrayed Friday in a federal appeals court decision that revived an age discrimination lawsuit Santillan filed after losing his job.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Santillan’s lawsuit should proceed because he had alleged adequate evidence of age discrimination.
Santillan, according to the 9th Circuit, was rarely disciplined during his first 30 years hauling garbage.
But after a new route manager was assigned to supervise him, the company tried to discipline him six times over a year and half. It fired him for the first time in 2011, saying he had four accidents over a 12-month period, according to the court.
Santillan disputed the company’s account. He said he was one of five older, Spanish-speaking employees who were fired or suspended once the new manager took over, and he wanted his job back.
The residents of Manhattan Beach f locked to the garbageman’s assistance.
They reminded the company they had urged the Manhattan Beach City Council to renew its contract with USA Waste in 2011 mainly because they had wanted to keep Santillan on the route.
“One homeowner made it a point to introduce her sons to Santillan because he ‘works hard, and has a beautiful spirit and attitude,’ and ‘in terms of class and integrity and a radiant personality
there is no one in the world who can hold a candle to Gilberto,’ ” Judge Harry Pregerson wrote for the court.
“In contrast, days after Santillan was fired, Manhattan Beach residents reported being frustrated finding their trash cans emptied at dusk and left ‘sitting in the street — creating a hazard to oncoming cars,’ ” Pregerson added.
The court cited an article published in the Easy Reader, a South Bay weekly, by Alene Tchekmedyian, who is now a reporter for The Times.
The community’s pressure worked. The company agreed to rehire Santillan if he passed a California Department of Transportation drug test, a physical exam and a criminal background check and verified that he was legally entitled to work in the U.S.
The court said the company sent him a work-entitlement form in English even though it was available in Spanish and the company knew Santillan’s English was limited.
Santillan passed the examinations and reported back to work in 2012 with his driver’s license and Social Security card.
But a human resources employee for the company said he failed to provide some information needed to show he was authorized to work legally in the U.S.
A district court ruled in favor of the company, but the 9th Circuit overturned that decision.
The appeals court said Santillan was not a new employee and therefore did not have to fill out the form showing eligibility to work.
“An employer’s incorrect view of the law is not a legitimate reason for firing an employee,” Pregerson, a Carter appointee, wrote for the court.
“Mr. Santillan is very pleased with the court's decision and looks forward to his day in court,” said John Taylor, Santillan’s lawyer. “After 32 years of service to the community, Waste Management wanted to get rid of him for minor reasons. Now Waste Management must justify their decision to a jury.”
The lawyer who represented USA Waste could not be reached. A spokeswoman for the company said it was reviewing the decision.
Santillan could not be reached for comment.