A judge has ruled that the claims of a former maintenance director for a Riverside County senior living center who alleged both age discrimination and problems with patient care should be decided by an arbitrator rather than a jury.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Timothy Patrick Dillon issued his ruling Wednesday in the suit by plaintiff Ivan Vivian, who worked at the Brookdale Mirage Inn facility for the elderly in Rancho Mirage until his 2020 firing. Vivian also alleged wrongful termination, hostile work environment harassment and failure to prevent discrimination and harassment.
Vivian, now 56, says the facility’s executive director was 25 years younger than the plaintiff and often made ageist comments to him. Vivian also says he complained that caregivers did not give needed attention to a distressed patients.
“During his employment with Brookdale, Vivian witnessed caregivers who worked in the memory care section of the facility neglect residents by failing to timely attend to their needs and provide requisite care,” the suit states.
Vivian repeatedly informed the caregivers that neglecting residents was impermissible, but the misconduct continued, Vivian alleges in the suit brought Nov 16.
But in his ruling, the judge said the defendant, Brookdale Employee Services LLC, established that there was an arbitration agreement that covers Vivian’s claims.
“Here, there is no question that plaintiff’s causes of action are intimately founded in and intertwined with the arbitration agreement,” according to Dillon, who put a hold on the lawsuit and scheduled a Dec. 7 post-arbitration status conference.