ENCINITAS — The city of Encinitas has agreed to pay a $65,000 settlement to a former city employee who alleged she was retaliated against after filing an internal harassment complaint.
The settlement, finalized May 21, comes after the employee filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in March. She said she experienced harassment on the basis of her religion, sex, sexual orientation and disability by an unnamed manager, and was ultimately terminated after filing an internal complaint and seeking accommodation.
This harassment included comments and looks on a weekly basis that made her uncomfortable, such as comments about her breasts, per the complaint. The manager would also make daily comments referencing the employee’s disability, including that she was “messy and a procrastinator,” and ask invasive questions.
After informing the manager that these comments made her uncomfortable, to no avail, the employee said that she verbally reported the harassment to an unnamed department director in the city and that no action was taken.
She then advanced her complaint to Human Resources, and she was placed under a different supervisor, the complaint said.
Following her internal harassment complaint with the city, the employee said she was retaliated against by being passed up for a promotion and denied other opportunities and assignments.
For example, the employee was restricted from attending a meeting with the finance department that she was supposed to facilitate. A colleague was also given a promotion to a position that the employee was previously told would be hers prior to filing her complaint, and she was not given the chance to compete for the position.
“Prior to my internal harassment complaint, I was told I would be promoted to the [redacted] manager position due to my experience facilitating a similar program with my previous employer. Therefore, I believe I was denied promotion in retaliation for filing an internal harassment complaint,” the complaint states.
The employee also said she was retaliated against and discriminated against for requesting disability accommodation and disability leave.
According to the complaint, the employee began to be called into the office on her dedicated work-from-home days, which were part of her approved ADA accommodation for her disability. She communicated to the city that her accommodations were not being met, and inquired about disability leave.
Soon after, the employee said she received a 59-page reprimand citing errors in her job that she said she did not make.
Eventually, after filing the harassment complaint and making these inquiries about accommodations and disability leave, she said she received a notification that she was being terminated not for cause.
The agreement with the city includes a $52,000 settlement and $13,000 in wages, minus applicable withholding deductions for a total of $8,557.65.
The Civil Rights Department stated that the agreement does not constitute any admission by the city of violating the Fair Employment and Housing Act, nor does it constitute a finding on the merits of the complaint.
The city of Encinitas declined to comment due to it being a personnel matter.
