In January 2012, plaintiff Juan Cervantes, 28, a man of Mexican descent, began work as a prep cook, cook and dishwasher at Great Khan’s Mongolian BBQ at the Southland Mall in Hayward. He claimed that since almost the start of his employment, his supervisor, the store manager who is of Korean descent, verbally abused him and other Hispanic employees, and did not allow him and Latino employees to take meal breaks. He also claimed that the store manager required him to engage in unsafe food preparation practices. In addition, he claimed the store manager and the store’s owner assaulted and battered him, and that the store’s owner and another manager forced him to stay in a back room. Cervantes claimed that as a result, he reported his concerns to the other manager on April 7, 2012, but that he was told he was being let go. Cervantes sued the franchise owner, GK SNS Inc.; and the president and chief executive officer of GK SNS who also visits all the Great Khan locations weekly, Hyunglim Ji. Cervantes alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted battery, assault, false imprisonment, constructive discharge in violation of public policy, discrimination and harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, violations of the Ralph Act of the Civil Code, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The parties agreed to a bench trial. Cervantes claimed that he was constantly harassed by the store manager and that upon complaining about the abuse, he was retaliated against and wrongfully discharged. He also claimed that after he was told he was being let go, he left the store to go to his nearby job at Applebee’s, but Ji, who was at the Hayward store that day, followed him all the way to that other job, while acting in a threatening and intimidating manner that made him fear for his safety. Cervantes further claimed that he eventually asked an Applebee’s co-worker to go outside and threaten to call the police if Ji did not leave. The defendants denied Cervantes allegations, claiming that on April 7, 2012, Cervantes only complained about break issues, and that he was upset and agitated. Ji claimed that he personally went to the San Jose office to access Cervantes’ time cards and concluded that Cervantes was owed $40. He claimed that as a result, he returned to the store that same day, intending to pay Cervantes, but that Cervantes was agitated and yelling upon returning to the store to pick up his final paycheck. Ji also claimed that he told Cervantes that he was going to talk to the store manager and that he would assign the store manager to other locations so that Cervantes would not have to work with him. In addition, Ji claimed that he brought up the unpaid break issue and wanted to pay Cervantes on the spot, but that Cervantes refused to accept the payment and left. In response to Cervantes claims about Ji following him after he left, Ji claimed that he only followed Cervantes because he wanted to resume their conversation about the unpaid break issue and wanted to pay him. However, Ji denied following Cervantes in a threatening manner and, thereafter, he spoke with the subject store manager, who asked to be laid off so that he could collect unemployment benefits. He further claimed that Cervantes returned to the store on On April 12, 2012, to deliver a letter of resignation that also stated, “I no longer feel safe with the treatment provided to me while at work.” Ji then entered a notation at the bottom of Cervantes’ letter and the employment relationship ended at that time., Cervantes claimed that he became depressed and fearful after his termination. He alleged that as a result, he would have sought counseling or other mental health treatment, but that he could not afford to do so. Cervantes also claimed that he immediately began looking for another second job after the incident with Ji and found one, at a slightly higher rate, at a nearby restaurant approximately three months later. Thus, he sought recovery of back pay and emotional distress damages.