A factory worker at Hilmar Cheese who was hurt at his workplace has filed a lawsuit saying the company violated his workers rights by effectively severing him from his job, and then blocking his access to unemployment benefits, according to a complaint filed in Merced County Superior Court.
Hilmar Cheese Company in northwest Merced County declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, according to a spokesperson.
Victor Cruz of Delhi worked at Hilmar Cheese, a huge cheese producer with 1,500 employees and a revenue of $2.8 billion, for about 15 years before a back injury he suffered as a factory operator led him to need three months off, his complaint says.
A doctor told the 37-year-old during a routine follow-up exam he’d need some more time off, which amounted to nine more working days, the lawsuit says. After those additional days, his doctor cleared him to work without accommodation.
That’s when the company veered away from its requirements under workers rights law, according to Cruz’s attorney Michael Kent. “They screwed up this whole thing,” he said.
Hilmar Cheese moved Cruz from the Family and Medical Leave Act designation to a Medical Leave of Absence designation, the lawsuit says.
The cheese maker’s policy provides no job protection to those on MLOA, Kent said, adding the company’s policy is a unlawful and discriminatory.
Kent said the company is required by law to make the process interactive, which is to say to meet with the employee to learn if they can be...
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