20 year old ARCO AM PM wins $626,000.00 verdict

PRESS RELEASE

ADRIANNA ROJAS

Plaintiff,

vs.

GAHAD ABA ALMOATI ALBABA, SHAATH AND OUDEH ENTERPRISES INC., (ARCO AM PM)

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE

CASE NO.: RIC1511012 $626,000.00 Verdict

Ms. Adriana Rojas is a young Hispanic woman who began as an employee at an AM/PM Arco Market and Gas Station Located at 27691 Ynez Rd., Temecula in February 2014. The AM/PM market was and is currently owned by Mr. Shahin Shaath. The store manager throughout Ms. Rojas’s time of employment was Gahad Albaba. Albaba is a middle-aged man of Middle Eastern descent and a relative of the owner. Throughout the duration of Ms. Rojas’ time at the AM/PM she was subjected to significant physical and verbal abuse from both Albaba and many other male employees working at the AM/PM.

Albaba and other male employees—who were all Middle Eastern descent—directed numerous racially derogatory remarks towards Rojas. Albaba also treated Hispanic employees—Rojas in particular—disproportionately by requiring her to work undesirable shift times. At times, Albaba forced Rojas to perform the most loathsome tasks even though male employees were equally available to complete those tasks. On one occasion, a customer smeared feces on the wall in the store’s bathroom. Instead of having the male employees who were on duty that day clean the mess, Albaba called Ms. Rojas in to work from her day off to clean the feces. When Ms. Rojas arrived to work that day, Albaba laughed at Rojas with the other male employees and immediately forced her into the bathroom to clean the feces.

Additionally, throughout Rojas’s employment with Shaath she was subjected to countless episodes of physical abuse by Albaba. On many occasions Albaba physically touched Rojas against her will on her buttocks and other parts of her body. Albaba would also strike Rojas’s buttocks in a violent manner using cardboard or his hands. While Albaba justified his touching and striking by saying he was joking, Rojas proved at trial this was abuse towards her. Because of Albaba’s and others’ conduct, Rojas repeatedly asked management for the discrimination and harassment to stop. Albaba’s conduct continued despite Rojas’s repeated requests to both Shaath and Albaba to stop this abusive conduct. Also, Ms. Rojas experienced wage and hour issues while working with Shaath. In approximately October 2014, Rojas had one of her payroll checks not processed due to Shaath’s account having insufficient funds. Additionally, Albaba often reduced hours and pay from Rojas’s paychecks in retaliation for her complaints of discrimination, harassment, and abuse. Albaba also reduced pay from Rojas after wrongfully accusing her of insufficient funds in her assigned cash register. Albaba would do this by deducting from Ms. Rojas’s paycheck the amount she was supposedly short on her cash register. Furthermore, Rojas had over $3,000 wrongfully withheld from her paychecks during her employment. The $3,000 was unlawfully withheld from Rojas under the guise that Rojas was provided pay advances. Despite Ms. Rojas’s repeated requests to be paid the full amount she was owed for her work, Shaath refused to pay Ms. Rojas the money she deserved.

The harassment, abuse, and discrimination reached its apex on July 2, 2015, which was the last day Ms. Rojas worked at Shaath. On that day, Rojas was working at AM/PM with Guadelupe Vizcaya, who was another employee at AM/PM. Because Rojas and Guadelupe needed assistance, Albaba was called to the store. Albaba arrived at the store in a foul mood, even verbally attacking Rojas and Vizcaya. After the verbal onslaught, Rojas decided to stand up for herself and Vizcaya by telling Albaba that he should appreciate the hard work they do for Albaba and the store. Albaba was enraged by Rojas standing up for herself. In response, Albaba threw a heavy cardboard OPEN/CLOSED sign at Rojas, striking her directly in the face. Surveillance video depicting this was produced by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and showed at trial.

Because Rojas was caught off guard and defenseless when Albaba struck Rojas, Rojas suffered cuts and bruises to her nose. Immediately after being struck by Albaba, Rojas attempted to flee the store because she was in fear for her own safety. Rojas began to make her way towards the back door of the store as Albaba stalked closely behind her. During this time, Albaba yelled at Rojas and kicked boxes at her legs. This event struck Rojas with extreme fear causing her to worry about what Albaba might do to her next.

On July 3, 2015, Rojas sought medical treatment at Loma Linda Medical Center—Murrieta Emergency Department. There, she received treatment for a soft tissue contusion on her nose. While receiving medical treatment, medical staff urged Rojas to file a police report regarding for the assault and battery. Medical staff then contacted the Riverside Sheriff’s department to report Ms. Rojas’s injury. The Riverside Sheriff’s department began to investigate the incident as a crime under Penal Code § 245, assault with a deadly weapon. After the investigation, Mr. Albaba was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Later, Mr. Albaba plead guilty to battery under Penal Code § 242.

Despite knowing of Albaba’s despicable conduct, Shaath continues to employ him to this day. Due to being in extreme fear of being harmed by Albaba again, Rojas never returned to her job with Shaath.

Following a jury trial, Ms. Rojas’ claims were presented to the jury. Ultimately, the jury returned a $626,000.00 verdict in favor of Ms. Rojas and notably found defendants harassed her in violation of the FEHA and subjected her to unlawful harassment in violation of the FEHA. Substantial evidence was presented during trial that showed Ms. Rojas’ treatment as an employee with defendants was brutal. Evidence was submitted establishing Plaintiff’s hair was burned by her male coworkers. Additionally, Plaintiff testified that she was required to clean dried feces on the wall of the store’s bathroom. She was required to perform this loathsome task even though it was her day off and other male employees of equal rank were already on duty. Plaintiff testified that when she arrived at the store that day, Shahin Shaath and Gahad Albaba both laughed at her as they forced her to clean the bathroom. Additionally, evidence was presented showing Plaintiff was not provided sufficient breaks and had money unlawfully deducted from her paychecks. Also, Plaintiff suffered severe abuse and harassment by manager and supervisor Gahad Albaba. Mr. Albaba pulled Plaintiff’s hair, punched her in the arm, and kicked her in the legs and called her derogatory names. Ms. Rojas’ employment ended when Mr. Albaba physically assaulted her.