Eastern District of California Blog

Deputy Alleges Sex Discrimination in El Dorado County Sheriff's Department

An El Dorado County sheriff's deputy has filed suit against the county and her department, charging that a "boy's club" network is allowed to thrive in the Sheriff's Department, discriminating against female employees.

Deputy Tanya Hunt's suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, claims she was subjected to sexual harassment and punitive assignments that have made it impossible for her to work.

Sac Bee, 6/5/10

Gender Discrimination Award Hurts Cash-Strapped Fresno

A multimillion-dollar federal court verdict threatens to deplete the city of Fresno's self-funded insurance pool at the worst possible time -- just as city revenues are evaporating faster than City Hall can cut costs.

City officials now must find $3 million to replenish their insurance reserves just as they hunt for more than $7 million in other cuts to close a persistent and growing budget gap. . . .

"This is a serious and heavy blow to the budget," Fresno City Council President Larry Westerlund said. "We need to take all the steps that we can to see that it never happens again."

The November federal court decision -- a nearly $2.5 million gender-discrimination award, with attorney's fees still to be decided -- came in a lawsuit filed by Michelle Maher, who was forced out of the Fresno Fire Department's training academy in 2005. . . . .

Rudd hopes the verdict will be reduced or overturned on appeal. The city has asked U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger for a new trial. A hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Fresno Bee, 3/3/10

Ex-Employee Alleges El Dorado Water Boss Coerced Her Into Sex

Threatened with the loss of her job, the former administrative manager of the El Dorado County Water Agency entered into a long-term sexual relationship with her boss, former agency General Manager William T. Hetland, the woman claims in a lawsuit filed Friday in Sacramento federal court.

The relationship evolved into three-way sex, commonly referred to as a ménage á trois, involving Cathy A. Monaghan, her husband, Daniel E. Monaghan II, and Hetland, Monaghan alleges in the suit filed on her behalf by civil rights attorney Johnny Griffin III.

"All of the sexual conduct and harassment that occurred between April 2006 and into August 2009 constitutes an intertwined pattern of continuing sexual harassment," the suit claims.

Monaghan, 53, was fired by the agency Sept. 29, after telling Hetland, 61, that he had subjected her to unbearable stress, leading to her abuse of alcohol, and that she wanted to discontinue their trysts, according to the suit.

 Sacramento Bee, 2/20/10

 

Sacramento Court Dismisses Ex-Cop's Suit Against City of Pardise

Paradise Police Officer Lacey Martin's federal lawsuit against the town of Paradise was recently dismissed by U.S. District Judge John Mendez, who ruled Martin's constitutional rights were not violated.

Martin's suit claimed her rights were violated when she was released from her probationary employment as a police officer approximately two years ago.

She was the department's sole female officer and she was released shortly after becoming romantically involved with Sgt. Jason Imboden, to whom she is now married.

ChicoER.com, 2/2/10

U.S. Accuses Local Jack In The Box Chain Owner Of Sexual Harassment

Kobra Associates, the financially troubled Roseville company that owns a chain of Jack in the Box restaurants, has been sued in federal court for alleged sexual harassment.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Sacramento by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, details allegations lodged by a former female worker at the Jack in the Box restaurant in Paradise.

Sacramento Bee, 12/24/09

$100,000 Judgment in Sexual Harrassment Lawsuit

The Sacramento Bee today reports that the City of Isleton is liable for a $100,000 judgment as a result of a suit brought by an Isleton City Hall administrative assistant.