LOS ANGELES – A Magic Mountain LLC employee is suing the Valencia theme park, alleging she was sometimes required to work up to 14 hours a day without a break and that she was temporarily removed from a tour guide job that paid her an average $250 in tips for complaining about a false rumor spread by her supervisors.
Scarlette Barajas’ Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges retaliation, failure to prevent retaliation and various state Labor Code violations. Barajas seeks at least $500,000 in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages.
A Magic Mountain representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Monday.
Barajas, a student and part-time employee at Magic Mountain, was first hired in July 2017 and she conducted VIP tours on 30 different days from December 2021 through November 2022, the suit states.
“Plaintiff was instructed that, when conducting a VIP tour, she was to clock out for her rest and meal breaks, but continue working,” the suit alleges.
Barajas alleges that all of her VIP tour guide colleagues were subjected to the same conditions, according to the suit.
Last September, Barajas’ supervisors began spreading a false rumor in the workplace that she kissed a co-worker at a party, leaving her humiliated by the resulting gossip, the suit states. Barajas made two written complaints in which the park’s human resources department “purportedly conducted an investigation which eventually led to Magic Mountain implementing a policy prohibiting this type of gossip in the workplace,” the suit states.
However, after Barajas complained she was not given any VIP tours for more than two months, was omitted from the schedule on several weekends that she usually worked and was sent to an offsite call center job multiple times, causing her to lose wages and tips, which averaged $250 per VIP tour, the suit states.
As a result of management’s alleged retaliation for Barajas’ complaints, she has suffered general and special damages, including mental and emotional distress, anxiety, depression, headaches, tension and other physical ailments related, as well as the lost wages and benefits, according to her suit.