Garcia

FACTS

Plaintiff Mateo Ruelas Garcia worked 28 years at Eden Memorial Park (Eden), a mortuary/cemetery owned by defendant Service Corporation International (SCI) and its subsidiaries.1 Plaintiff, who has three years of primary schooling, started out by caring for the lawn and cleaning tombstones, then graduated to setting up tents and greenery for graveside services and driving a tractor. By the mid-1990‟s, plaintiff had responsibility for digging graves with a backhoe. Plaintiff and his coworkers prepared five to 10 graves per day. Plaintiff excavated “thousands” of graves. Two former Eden managers described plaintiff as a trusted employee who received regular merit pay raises. He became an assistant supervisor in 2006; in that position, he no longer operated a backhoe. Plaintiff acknowledged receipt of his employer‟s handbook, and agreed to obey the company‟s “Code of Conduct.” The company handbook states that employees are “at

1 Codefendants SCI California Funeral Services, Inc. (SCI California) and California Cemetery and Funeral Services, LLC (CCFS) fall under SCI‟s umbrella.

2 will” and may be terminated at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause.…