Los Angeles City Councilman Accused of Sexually Harassing Former Deputy Chief of Staff
Los Angeles, CA- Another California city official is in trouble for allegedly subjecting a coworker to inappropriate sexual conduct. This time it is Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huriz, and his accuser is his former deputy chief of staff.
The complaint against Huriz was filed in early June by Francine Godoy, and states that harassment occurred before April of this year, the Los Angeles Times reported after obtaining copies of the complaint from the Department of Fair Housing and Employment.
Although the names in the complaint were redacted, the Times was able to decipher the extent of Huriz’s alleged harassment, which includes gender discrimination, quid pro quo sexual harassment and retaliation.
In her complaint, Godoy alleges that Huriz retaliated against after her “refusal to engage in sex.” After being rebuffed, Huriz is accused of denying Godoy job promotions, forcing her to quit and to transfer. The complaint also states Godoy was asked “impermissible non-job related questions,” and had a political bid “sabotaged” by Huriz, the Times reported.
“I was subjected to sexual harassment [quid pro quo and hostile work environment] and retaliated against when I refused advances,” the complaint states.
Huriz hired Godoy in 2006 until April of 2013, when she took a position with the city’s Bureau of Sanitation following the alleged harassment.
Godoy’s suit was filed against Huriz and the city of Los Angeles leaving the possibility of filing a formal lawsuit against the city open.
After the complaints were made public, Huriz released a statement denying Godoy’s allegations. In an email to the Times, Huriz’s spokesman Rick Coca said the councilman “strongly and emphatically denies the assertions made in the claim sent to the city and intends to fully cooperate with the city in any investigation of this matter.” Coca added that Huriz was “surprised” by the complaint.
Coca also said Huriz would not discuss the allegations openly.
This is the second sexual harassment scandal to involve a high level city official. Last month, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner was asked to resign after one of his former supporters came forward with allegations that he sexually harassed one of his former staff members.
All told, close to 13 women have come forward stating that Mayor Filner subjected them inappropriate sexual behavior. Mayor Filner denies sexually harassing the women, and his attorney recently came forward stating that his client did not receive sexual harassment training when he became Mayor.
It was later reported that people on City Hall were aware of Mayor Filner’s sexual harassment and failed to stop his behavior.
Now with two high level city officials facing allegations of sexual harassment, it leaves many to wonder if these men are being taught exactly what could be construed as inappropriate sexual behavior. Another possibility is that these two men believed that their positions made them impervious to sexual harassment complaints.
This second complaint makes it clear that city governments—harassment complaints against city officials aren’t exclusive to California—need to enhance their sexual harassment training to protect themselves against lawsuits, which can often cost local governments hundreds of thousands of dollars especially if the accuser has a savvy sexual harassment attorney.
