A Marin County jury has awarded a nearly $1.3 million judgment to a Fairfax resident who claimed he was fired in 2020 after objecting to his employer’s alleged violation of COVID-19 restrictions.
“I lost my job for doing what was right,” said James Caldwell, who had worked as a salesperson at the Home Consignment Center in San Rafael for 11 years.
The judgment was awarded July 7. Brad Weintraub, an attorney for the business, declined to comment.
Caldwell, 59, earned about $40,000 to $45,000 a year while working at the San Rafael store. He said he is now making more in his new job reading meters for the Marin Municipal Water District.
“I didn’t mind struggling because I was doing what I loved,” he said. “It was my passion.”
Home Consignment Center is a furniture and jewelry consignment store with shops throughout California and in Texas. Its headquarters is in Danville, Contra Costa County.
Caldwell said that over the years he became very knowledgeable about mid-century art, pianos, “the type of things that made the store vibrant and made the job fun.”
“I became known as a ‘picker’ among my friends, someone who can immediately identify quality pieces that will sell and for what price, which was kind of cool,” Caldwell said.
In late March 2020, Home Consignment Center closed its stores temporarily and laid off many of its employees because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. According to the suit, which was filed in August 2021, the company announced to employees before the...
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