The owners of the West Hollywood Edition hotel are facing a lawsuit from three Black former food service workers. The workers, Bianca Cody, Iris Walker, and Martel Devlin, claim they were treated unfairly compared to employees of other ethnicities, with two being fired in 2022 and the third forced to resign due to poor job conditions.
The trio alleges wrongful termination, racial discrimination, harassment, failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation, and various state Labor Code violations against Edition Management LLC and Marriott International Inc. They are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Cody was hired in October 2019 and rehired in January 2022, along with Walker and Devlin. The three worked overnight shifts and say they never had time to take rest breaks guaranteed by law. They also claim that there was only one other Black employee working at the hotel. The suit alleges that the hotel fosters a culture and practice of not taking rest periods.
The plaintiffs claim that hotel management used discriminatory write-ups and devised excuses to suspend or discipline them while refusing to apply the same policies to other non-Black employees. Devlin received a write-up last May accusing him of drinking on the job, but he complained to human resources that non-Black workers were not written up for doing the same thing.
His intended firing was rescinded, but he decided to quit due to discrimination. Last August, Cody and Walker’s Latina supervisor and human resources gave them write-ups for allegedly drinking on the job, but did not do the same for five non-Black co-workers accused of the same thing. Cody and Walker were later fired due to the drinking claims. Cody had to wait 30 days after her firing to receive her final wages, which violates state law.
The suit claims that the three plaintiffs have experienced lost earnings and suffered mental pain. A hotel representative has not commented on the lawsuit yet.
Yawn, we know times are tough
The plaintiffs might consider calling Sepi Shyne to complain that their higher wages which she favored for union workers, failed to protect them.
The articles says they were drinking alcohol on the job. They should have been fired immediately.
They show their true loser colors by trying to make this a racial issue. I hope they are countersued for a lot of money.
I’m leaning towards this being meritless, although they’ll probably get something out of it. I’ve seen it too many times to take it seriously.
Frivolous. I’ve worked plenty of places in the hospitality industry for over 25 years, and not taking a break happens quite often. It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with poor management not knowing how to handle particularly busy times.
If you do not have the skills or knowledge to conduct a business within the law, you are subject to the penalties of the law… Ignorance is not a legal defense.
I worked in the service industry for a number of years and there were times when, out of the blue, we would get unexpectedly very busy. I could have taken my breaks that I was legally entitled to and left my employer to deal with it on his own, but I was hired to get a job done by someone who was paying me to be there, so many times I went without my break as an act of loyalty and appreciation to my employer. I’ve never had a boss who wasn’t sorry to see me go. These three strike… Read more »
Loyalty, schmoyalty – such nonsense.
Your making assumptions seems a little harsh.
*You’re*
Aren’t these people, thanks to Weho the highest paid hotel workers in the nation?
You’re probably right. I hate today’s labor unions. Workers no longer have the incentive to become the most they can be because they get comfortable in their union rights, and employers get sub-par or mediocre employees ….. who sue them for a big payout. Most hotel workers are doing jobs that young students would love to do until they can transition to something better. Labor union supporters assume that these adult workers are incapable of doing anything more for themselves than this menial repetitive work so they condescend to them by pretending they care when, in fact, it is these… Read more »
Thank you. THAT is the real story and what West Hollywood City Council voted overwhelmingly to support. Wrong headed.🙄
Follow the money ….. and watch for faux compassion.
Sad to see, but that appears to be the new art form……manipulative and easily attracting the blind sheep.