A man hired to be a manager at an Ocala nursing home is suing his former employer, alleging he was forced to perform degrading cleaning tasks after his district manager learned his age.
Leon L. Rossi filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against Healthcare Services Group Inc. in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on May 26, alleging that the company subjected him to humiliating treatment and a constructive discharge solely because of his age.
The complaint details violations of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act.
According to the lawsuit, Rossi was hired by the defendant on March 31, 2025, to serve as a manager in training at the former Aspire at Arbor Springs Nursing Home, a long-term healthcare facility located along SE 24th Road in Ocala.
Rossi claims that shortly before or during his hiring process, the district manager obtained information regarding his date of birth.
Court documents allege that the district manager subsequently reacted with vocal shock, openly questioning whether Rossi was truly born in 1955.
Soon after this interaction, Rossi claims the company began subjecting him to adverse treatment and working conditions that were entirely inconsistent with the managerial position for which he had been hired.
Specifically, Rossi alleges that his superiors intentionally assigned him to perform manual labor, including buffing floors and cleaning rooms, in a manner designed to degrade and pressure him. He argues that the assignments were humiliating and a direct result of age-based prejudice that led to the creation of an intolerable work environment, forcing his resignation.
The lawsuit asserts that the company acted willfully and with reckless disregard for Rossi’s civil rights, using pretextual reasons to justify their discriminatory actions.
Rossi is seeking compensation for lost wages, lost benefits, emotional distress, and liquidated damages for the deliberate violation of his employment rights, and he has demanded a trial by jury.