A former longtime Mattel HQ Inc. worker has agreed to have an arbitrator rather than a jury decide his allegations that in 2022 his job duties were gradually given to new employees who were younger and paid less before he was wrongfully fired that year because of his age.
On Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Douglas W. Stern approved the accord between plaintiff Jose Arrellano and Mattel that refers the case to binding arbitration. The judge placed a stay on the case pending the outcome and scheduled a post-arbitration status conference for April 18, 2025.
In their court papers, Mattel attorneys maintained that in May 2021, Arrellano signed an agreement to arbitrate work disputes.
Arrellano's lawsuit alleges wrongful termination, age discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination. Arrellano seeks a total of more than $600,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.
Arrellano was hired in October 1997 and was more than 60 years old when terminated. He was a lead development program management associate and his duties included managing Mattel projects from through production while working with design, marketing and manufacturing teams. His annual salary was $130,000.
"For over 25 years, plaintiff successfully completed the job duties of all the job positions he occupied...," the suit filed Aug. 28 states.
Mattel often promoted Arrellano and he was given about a dozen salary increases after good merit reviews and he was the winner of eight incentive awards.
However, in 2022, Mattel hired about four new employees for the exact same position that Arrellano had and they ranged in age between the mid-20s and early 30s and were paid substantially less than the plaintiff, according to the suit.
Soon thereafter, Arrellano's manager started telling the plaintiff to work "quicker" and that he was "too slow," and "inefficient," the suit states.
Mattel also chose one of the younger employees to travel internationally to conduct company business, a job previously assigned to Arrellano, the suit alleges.
Mattel terminated Arrellano Dec. 2 telling him it was based on his work performance, the suit states.
Arrellano maintains he lost his job because of his age and that he has suffered lost income and emotional distress as a result.
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