Three men, including a father and son, are suing LA Opera and the Music Center of Los Angeles Inc., alleging they were not returned to work for reasons that include race, being injured on the job and for testifying in a workplace investigation.
The plaintiffs in the Los Angeles Superior Court complaint are Timothy Tyler and his son, Robert Tyler, as well as Daymon Scott. They allege multiple causes of action, ranging from wrongful termination and retaliation to racial and disability discrimination.
The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. An LA Opera representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit, which as brought Wednesday.
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Timothy Tyler was hired by LA Opera and the Music Center in 2018 as a scenery carrier and assistant to the property master. LA Opera and Music Center stage performances mostly at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and the performances feature a live orchestra, elaborate costumes and staging, including scene changes requiring the services of employees such as Timothy Tyler, the suit states.
Timothy Tyler hurt a shoulder in March 2023 during a performance of the opera "Pelleas et Melisande" while lifting a heavy bed prop at his boss' direction, according to the suit, which further states that he continued working by using his left shoulder for various tasks.
Timothy Tyler was put on light duty, but the defendants denied his worker's compensation claim and he paid his own medical expenses while off duty, the suit states. He tried to return to work in October 2023, but his requests were ignored, and a supervisor told Robert Tyler, who held the same job as his dad, that his father had been dishonest about his injuries, calling him "damaged goods" and "too much of a liability."
Timothy Tyler also believes the boss held it against him that the plaintiff was married to a Latina, citing examples of the supervisor referring to the ethnic group as being "inferior humans," "trash" and responsible for crime, the suit states.
Robert Tyler maintains he was not given any more work after he testified during an LA Opera and Music Center investigation into his father's claims that the supervisor and others had made numerous racist statements regarding Latinos and Blacks, despite a human resources vice president's promise he would not suffer retaliation, the suit states.
Scott, who is Black, was an electrical crew member who alleges he was given the hardest and most dangerous jobs and who was yelled at by a supervisor regarding his job performance in front of co-workers, the suit states. Scott says he later learned the supervisor had used the n-word in referring to him and had also complained that Scott was "getting on my nerves."
During the November 2022 run of the play "Omar," the supervisor told Scott to be in the cast and portray a slave, then later told others that the plaintiff was "playing the role because that is who he is, he's a slave," the suit states.
In June 2023, the boss told Scott to turn in his keys and badge, and he has not been returned to work since, according to the suit, which also states that all three plaintiffs have suffered emotional distress.
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