A Marion County man has accused a construction company of wrongfully terminating him in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim after he suffered a severe shoulder and neck injury on a job site.
Attorneys representing Dino Castronova filed the complaint against Ajax Building Company, LLC, in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on June 16.
According to the lawsuit, Castronova was hired by the commercial construction management firm in November 2024 as an Assistant Superintendent and was assigned to work on the Sumter County Government Center project.
The filing states that Castronova had over twenty years of experience in the construction industry and had passed his pre-employment drug screening upon being hired.
On April 29, 2025, Castronova reportedly sustained a compensable workplace injury to his right shoulder and neck while dumping trash into a dumpster on the job site.
Following the incident, Castronova passed a post-accident drug test and filed a workers’ compensation claim, after which his treating physicians placed him on light-duty work restrictions.
Medical professionals later recommended a total shoulder replacement for his right shoulder injury alongside conservative management for his neck. The complaint alleges that despite accommodating these restrictions initially, company supervisors began a coordinated campaign to force Castronova out of his employment due to his ongoing medical claim.
In support of the claims, the lawsuit cites internal corporate communications from July 2025.
Accordingly, on July 14, 2025, a general superintendent allegedly sent an email to the company’s risk management department regarding Castronova’s upcoming medical appointment to review an MRI, stating that they should terminate his employment that Friday because he was essentially useless and harming morale.
The director of risk management initially advised against the firing because Castronova had no prior disciplinary history or performance reviews on file. However, the complaint alleges that on the very next day, Castronova’s direct supervisor issued multiple backdated write-ups in a single day, which Castronova immediately opposed in writing as fraudulent harassment.
The conflict culminated in September 2025 when supervisors allegedly solicited several co-workers to report that Castronova smelled of marijuana, though no indications of physical impairment were noted. Although the reports were made on September 10, the company allowed Castronova to continue working on the job site for two full workdays before ordering him to submit to a reasonable suspicion drug test on September 12.
Castronova agreed to take the test but refused to ride to the testing facility in a vehicle driven by the supervisor who had orchestrated the previous disciplinary actions. Within minutes of declining the ride, Castronova received an electronic termination notice citing a refusal to submit to a drug test.
The filing notes that during subsequent administrative proceedings, company leadership and human resources personnel testified that Castronova had never actually been observed acting impaired on the job, and there were no prior records of substance issues in his personnel file.
Furthermore, the complaint highlights that a Judge of Compensation Claims issued a final order on May 11, ruling that Castronova’s decision not to ride with that specific supervisor did not constitute workplace misconduct, and that his termination did not legally extinguish his entitlement to temporary partial disability benefits.
Castronova has demanded a trial by jury to resolve the matter. He is seeking back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, and punitive damages for violations of Florida labor laws, according to the complaint.