A TikTok video is raising questions about the manner in which several employees of an assisted living facility were allegedly fired.
The video, posted by the TikTok user @jhfchristiann, features a person saying “You’re firing all of us for no reason?” A man in a red shirt then appears to collect the keys from different individuals in the video. The person capturing the video asks a couple of the employees how long they’ve been working there, to which some of the responses include six and 11 years.
According to the post, the incident happened at Modesto Residential Living Center, and the user alleges that the facility’s owner “wrongfully terminate[d] 4 management 3 black females and one Italian.” The TikTok went on to make other allegations, such as the owner treating “his workers like s**t” and that the residents have had their “rights stripped away from them.”
With over 622,500 views, the TikTok post’s viral status has already apparently impacted user reviews for Modesto Residential Living Center in California. A number of one-star ratings on Google that popped up one day ago indicate the business is likely being review-bombed.
The TikTok video named the Modesto Residential Living Center owner as “Dennies Monterroso.” However, that appears to be a misspelling as the company’s Key Principal is listed as Dennis Monterosso, according to Dun & Bradstreet Business Directory.
After viewers asked for more context about what happened, the TikTok user made a follow-up video giving a more detailed explanation. According to the former employee, the owner’s wife came down to the facility and asked to make changes to the business in a way that was counter to regulations. The employee refused, explaining to the wife that “you can’t just change things.”
“I tried to let her know respectfully, as a facility manager, you can’t just come to the facility and change things. She didn’t like that. Next thing you know, I’m fired.”
The TikTok user posted another video allegedly recording the very moment the owner announced the firings. When someone asked the owner “why” they were getting fired, his response could be heard in the video: “I don’t have to give a reason.”
Clearly, some serious questions need to be answered surrounding this entire incident. What some people in the comments have pointed out is how California is an “at-will” state. This means that “most jobs can be terminated by the employer (as well as the employee) at any moment,” and without necessarily giving a reason for ending the employment, according to Shouse California Law Group. With that said, there are still key exceptions to this rule, such as when it unlawfully breaches an employment contract, is based on fraudulent misrepresentations, or constitutes wrongful termination, such as discrimination.