Sexual Harassment

The first of several lawsuits filed against Burbank by current and former police officials went to trial this week, with the attorney for an ex-deputy police chief calling what took place in the department one of the most “egregious” cases of mistreatment he's ever seen. In his lawsuit against the city, William Taylor alleges that he was demoted and eventually fired because he informed city officials and former Police Chief Tim Stehr about concerns of discrimination and sexual harassment, and because he pressed for an outside investigation into a burglary that allegedly took place in police headquarters.

BURBANK — A Los Angeles Superior Court judge decided Wednesday she needed more time to make a ruling on a request from Burbank Unified School District lawyers to strike a sexual harassment lawsuit against the district and its senior director of facilities. Judge Joanne O’Donnell is expected to deliver the ruling in the next 10 to 14 days, said Victor L. George, lawyer for Danielle Baez, the secretary at the district who filed the lawsuit June 1. In response to the sexual harassment suit against the district and director of facilities Craig Jellison, the district’s attorney, Nancy P. Doumanian, filed a motion in late September in Los Angeles County Superior Court to strike the complaint, calling it frivolous.

BURBANK — In response to a district administrative secretary’s sexual harassment lawsuit against the Burbank Unified School District and its director of facilities, the district’s attorney has filed a motion in Los Angeles County Superior Court to strike the complaint, calling it frivolous. “The complaint as a whole . . .amounts to a ‘frivolous pleading’ . . . given that the allegations contained therein are totally and completely without merit,” according to the motion, which school district attorney Nancy P. Doumanian filed Friday.

BURBANK — An administrative secretary on leave from her post at the Burbank Unified School District has filed a lawsuit for an unspecified amount of money against the district, accusing Senior Facilities Director Craig Jellison of sexual harassment. Danielle Baez alleges in her complaint, filed June 1 in Los Angeles Superior Court, that Jellison repeatedly sent her sexually explicit e-mails beginning in December 2005. Baez also alleges that Jellison sexually assaulted her in the district's facilities building in late July 2006, locking her in his office and making unwanted advances.

A former Walt Disney Co. archivist is suing the Burbank company, claiming the entertainment giant fired him in alleged retaliation for reporting sexual harassment in the workplace. Robert Klein , 41, filed an unlawful retaliation suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeking damages in excess of $75,000 for lost wages and benefits. He alleges, in court documents, that he was a casualty in Disney's "attempt to cover up sexual harassment at the company. "  "Disney's retaliatory actions have blackballed Klein in the archiving community ... and have destroyed his otherwise impeccable career and reputation," the suit alleges.

Score one for the ladies. Sexual harassment lawsuits are alive and well in California. This is the story of Carol Christopher, Julie Bhend, and Carmella Chamara, who alleged they were harassed by their boss, Thomas Harvey, while working at the National Education Assn. Apparently Harvey spent a good bit of his time physically intimidating female employees, not to mention screaming at them. Fortunately for the women they had an independent witness in that one of the male employees of the company was able to corroborate their claims.

For various reasons, some local police departments can get into trouble. Burbank is basically working to get an “OK” in regard to its efforts at correcting some problems related to alleged discrimination, sexual harassment and excessive use of force (“Police seek best-practices endorsement to restore public confidence,” Jan. 25). In addition to seeking national accreditation, they are dealing with outside probes and reviews, and there is a cost factor. I think the almighty question is: how did we get involved in this mess?

It's hard to believe that in this virtuous town we have a problem with the police force (“Judge dismisses lawsuit,” Dec. 7). Is that possible? My first thought when I see a police officer is to ask if help is necessary. Of course they are there to admonish you if your seat belts are not being put to good use and make sure you're not illegally using a cell phone. But there are other issues that we as ordinary people are not aware of, such as the relationships among police officers where race or ethnic background plays a part, or where excessive force against suspects could be a problem.

Ryan Carter BURBANK -- A trio of city employees suing the city for job discrimination and wrongful termination must amend portions of their claim, a Los Angeles Superior Coury judge has ruled. In his order, issued last week, Judge William Highberger asked attorneys for Tina Staffon, Richard Benson and Beverly Starleaf to amend their claims of age and disability discrimination, job retaliation, gender discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful discharge.

Tim Willert CIVIC CENTER -- A city employee alleging sexual harassment has resigned from her job, while two other city workers have jointly filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city of Burbank, according to documents and authorities. Tina Staffon, a senior video production associate in her mid-30s who has worked with the city since November 1987, resigned from her post Thursday, said her private attorney, Bradley Gage. "Because of the hostile work environment and the stress, it got to be too much for Tina," Gage said.

Cleaning up a mess left behind by predecessor is difficult under any circumstances, but it's especially challenging when members of the department you're overseeing don't always have your back. The city's new police chief, Scott LaChasse, held in limbo as interim chief for the past three years, has performed admirably, despite naysayers within the Burbank Police Officers Assn. LaChasse, who previously enjoyed a 30-year career with the Los Angeles Police Department, was recruited in January 2010 to help stabilize the Burbank force, disgraced by allegations of excessive force, discrimination and sexual harassment.

A former Walt Disney Co. archivist is suing the Burbank company, claiming the entertainment giant fired him in alleged retaliation for reporting sexual harassment in the workplace. Robert Klein , 41, filed an unlawful retaliation suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeking damages in excess of $75,000 for lost wages and benefits. He alleges, in court documents, that he was a casualty in Disney's "attempt to cover up sexual harassment at the company. "  "Disney's retaliatory actions have blackballed Klein in the archiving community ... and have destroyed his otherwise impeccable career and reputation," the suit alleges.

Burbank Interim Police Chief Scott LaChasse this week announced that the deputy chief and two captains he recruited nearly three years ago to serve on a temporary basis are now permanent employees of the police force - angering the police union president who said the move passed over qualified internal candidates. Deputy Chief Thomas Angel and captains Denis Cremins and Michael Albanese were brought on to assist LaChasse in his efforts to reform a police department beset with allegations of excessive use of force, cronyism, sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

A jury on Thursday awarded an Armenian American police detective $150,000 for claims that he faced on-the-job discrimination and harassment because of his ethnicity, his attorney said. The detective who filed the lawsuit, Steve Karagiosian, testified in Los Angeles County Superior Court that detectives and sergeants in the Police Department regularly used derogatory terms - such as “towel heads” - in referring to Armenians. The decision comes two weeks after a jury awarded former Burbank Police Deputy Chief William Taylor nearly $1.3 million based on claims that he was fired in retaliation for refusing to sign off on the terminations of minority officers, and for raising concerns about how a sexual harassment incident was being handled.

A jury today awarded an Armenian American police detective $150,000 for claims that he faced on-the-job discrimination and harassment because of his ethnicity, his attorney said. The detective who filed the lawsuit, Steve Karagiosian, testified in Los Angeles County Superior Court that detectives and sergeants in the police department regularly used derogative terms - such as “towel heads” - in referring to Armenians. The decision comes two weeks after a jury awarded former Burbank Police Deputy Chief William Taylor nearly $1.3 million based on claims that he was fired in retaliation for refusing to sign off on the terminations of minority officers and for raising concerns about how a sexual harassment incident was being handled.

A jury this week sided with former Deputy Police Chief William Taylor to the tune of nearly $1.3 million, siding with his claims that he was fired in retaliation for refusing to sign off on the terminations of minority officers. In his 2009 lawsuit, Taylor also said he was retaliated against for raising concerns about how a sexual harassment incident was being handled. Late Monday afternoon, jurors awarded $1.29 million, with $250,000 of that awarded for pain and suffering, his attorney Gregory Smith said.

The attorney for a former Burbank deputy police chief who claims he was fired because he complained about internal issues questioned the validity Thursday of an outside investigator's report that played a role in his client's termination. The former deputy, William Taylor, alleges that he was demoted and then fired in retaliation for expressing concerns about racial discrimination and sexual harassment. His lawsuit, which was being heard this week, is the first of several filed after the Porto's Bakery and Cafe robbery in 2007 to go before a jury.

The first of several lawsuits filed against Burbank by current and former police officials went to trial this week, with the attorney for an ex-deputy police chief calling what took place in the department one of the most “egregious” cases of mistreatment he's ever seen. In his lawsuit against the city, William Taylor alleges that he was demoted and eventually fired because he informed city officials and former Police Chief Tim Stehr about concerns of discrimination and sexual harassment, and because he pressed for an outside investigation into a burglary that allegedly took place in police headquarters.

For various reasons, some local police departments can get into trouble. Burbank is basically working to get an “OK” in regard to its efforts at correcting some problems related to alleged discrimination, sexual harassment and excessive use of force (“Police seek best-practices endorsement to restore public confidence,” Jan. 25). In addition to seeking national accreditation, they are dealing with outside probes and reviews, and there is a cost factor. I think the almighty question is: how did we get involved in this mess?