Harassment Suit Against Englander Staffer Is Vague, City Attorney Says

By City News Service

Lawyers for the City Attorney's Office state in new court papers that a sexual harassment suit by a former field deputy to Councilman Mitch Englander targeting the lawmaker's chief of staff is vague as to dates and that the woman should be forced to state her true name.

The woman, identified in her lawsuit as "Jane Doe," sued the city and Englander Chief of Staff John Lee on Sept. 16. The complaint alleges discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination, all in violation of the state Fair Employment and Housing Act. She alleges she was forced to quit her job because of the alleged misconduct.

However, the recent court papers filed by the City Attorney's Office state that much more information is needed in order to properly fight the case.

"The one thing that is clear is that plaintiff Doe is claiming she was sexually harassed by defendant John Lee," the defense court papers state. "After that, the exact allegations and the time periods in which they are alleged to have taken place ... is unclear."

The woman alleges Lee of subjected her to repeated "inappropriate and offensive jokes and comments of a sexual nature." She also maintains she was denied a chance to apply for a job as a public safety deputy because she was not a white man.

When the plaintiff complained to Englander, he allegedly asked her if the public safety position she sought was to allow her to "walk into fire stations naked," according to the City Attorney's Office's court papers.

However, the woman does not specify the specific dates of her many allegations, making it impossible for city lawyers to determine if the two complaints she filed with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing in September were done within a year of the alleged acts as required by law, the defense court papers state.

"Before bringing a civil action under FEHA, a plaintiff must file an administrative charge with the DFEH," the defense court papers state. "But here, plaintiff's complaint alleges she filed non one DFEH charge, as is the norm, but two different DFEH charges, neither of which is described."

The woman has "failed to plead acts of pervasive harassment by omission of dates and facts in her complaint," the City Attorney's Office's court papers state.

The plaintiff should not be allowed to pursue her case anonymously, the defense court papers state.

"The need for secrecy in a sexual harassment complaint has gone the way of the Salem witch hunts," according to the defense's court papers. "It is no more. The city is not required to guess both the plaintiff's identity and the allegations of her complaint."

The plaintiff was hired as a secretary and later promoted to a field deputy post, the City Attorney's Office's court papers state.

A hearing on the defense's motion to force the plaintiff and her lawyers to clarify her complaint is scheduled April 22 before Judge Maureen Duffy- Lewis.