A judge said Thursday he is inclined to deny the Bicycle Casino’s motion to compel arbitration of a lawsuit brought by a former manager who alleges he was wrongfully terminated in 2022 because he was in his 60s while also contending that a CEO once told him, “Go back to Lebanon.”
Plaintiff George Rahme’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also alleges hostile work environment, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On Thursday, Judge Joseph Lipner heard arguments on his tentative ruling in favor of Rahme.
“Here, plaintiff was never given the opportunity to negotiate the terms of the arbitration agreements,” the judge wrote, adding that the denial “creates a slight, but extant, degree” of unfairness.
However, Lipner did not issue a final decision and instead took the case under submission.
Rahme, now 64, was hired as a manager in April 1985. Throughout Rahme’s employment, the then-CEO made discriminatory and harassing comments about Rahme’s preference for wearing a tie and button-up shirt, saying “You look like you just woke up,” as well as the plaintiff’s weight and bald head, the suit states.
The same CEO did not make similar remarks to younger workers, according to the suit brought last July 10.
The CEO also often told Rahme, “You should retire” and “You are getting old,” “Go back to Lebanon” and “I will make you a bus driver and send you back to Lebanon,” while comparing Arabs to camels and making fun of the plaintiff’s accent, the suit states.
In 2021, a new CEO arrived and Rahme soon learned he did not like him, leaving the plaintiff “shocked” given Rahme’s “exemplary work ethic during his decades-long employment,” the suit states.
Rahme was pressured to resign in January 2022 by being offered severance pay, but he initially declined, the suit states. Rahme said two months later he would consider taking the severance pay, but was told it would be at a reduced amount, the suit states.
In April 2022, the new CEO told Rahme during a meeting that the plaintiff was “not a good fit for the new team” being put together, so Rahme asked for a demotion to shift manager to try and save his job, according to the complaint. However, Rahme was terminated anyway without being given any severance pay, the suit states.