[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap] manager at a Yoshinoya franchise in South Los Angeles allegedly berated one of the shop's cooks for three years using racist and homophobic threats. When the cook complained, the shop's owner allegedly threatened to turn him over to immigration authorities. The incidents were documented in public court documents as part of a year-old lawsuit that was settled just last week.
Jose Lopez, who worked as a cook for a Yoshinoya restaurant in the Crenshaw District, sued and agreed to a settlement with the company that owns that franchise, after alleging his boss frequently yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him. According to the suit, Lopez’s supervisor Teresa Bersonda also invoked Donald Trump's name in threats of deporting him, including, “I am really glad Donald Trump won so he can throw out all of the immigrants."
Bersonda, who was also named in the civil complaint, would allegedly loudly express her support for the president, punctuated with racial and homophobic slurs against Lopez. Some of the hate speech detailed in the lawsuit included the phrases “f--ing wetbacks,” “Jose is a f---ing f----t,” “You are worthless because you are an immigrant,” and "build that wall!"
Lopez endured taunts and harassment from the time he was hired in August 2014 until he was forced to resign in December 2017, according to the lawsuit. Lopez, 38, is a native of El Salvador.
Lopez's suit, filed in December 2017 in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleged discrimination, harassment, failure to prevent harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training, supervision, and retention.