Bisexual Hospital Worker Fired By Bigoted Boss He Reported: Suit

FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — A bisexual Kings County Hospital cafeteria worker who endured years of harassment from his slur-spewing supervisor was fired after reporting the abuse to the company owner, a new lawsuit alleges.

Juan Carlos Rojas Escobar filed suit last week against Kings County Cafeterias, Inc. — a private business contracted to run the hospital's cafeteria — and the supervisor who called him a "f-----," a girl, a slave and a Mexican for about eight years, Brooklyn Federal Court records show.

The harassment began in 2011 when Escobar began working as a cashier at Andy's Cafe inside the Kings County Hospital at 451 Clarkson Ave. in Flatbush, the lawsuit says.

His supervisor told co-workers Escobar was gay with homophobic slurs in English and Spanishand used a high-pitched "effeminate" tone around him, according to the lawsuit.

"You talk like a girl ... you move like a girl" the supervisor allegedly said, referring to Escobar as "La Niña."

The supervisor is named in the suit, but not in this article as Patch was unable to make contact to request comment.

The supervisor also allegedly called Escobar "a f---ing Mexican” and once tried to deny Escobar's request for a Sunday off to attend church because "you're my slave."

Escobar complained to a cafeteria manager in 2016, but his supervisor's behavior continued, and so he complained to the company owner in May 2019, the lawsuit says.

Escobar allegedly told Vasilios Mihalopoulos. "You have to do something.”

"I will fix it on Monday," Mihalopoulos replied.

That same Monday, Escobar was fired when the supervisor accused Escobar of charging Kings County Hospital director Sheldon McLeod $1 for a $1.95 coffee, the suit says.

"That's theft," the supervisor told him. "You're fired."

The suit claims Escobar had been ordered by the supervisor to offer hospital staff discounts.

Escobar's suit, which seeks damages for discrimination and retaliation and demands a jury trial, was filed in Brooklyn Federal Court on Oct. 11 by attorney Silvia C. Stanciu, court records show.

Neither Escobar's attorney, Kings County Cafeterias, nor Kings County Hospital's press office immediately responded to Patch's requests for comment.