A few days ago I published an article about a lawsuit filed against Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer by an employee of 3.5 years. There were numerous causes of action and allegations in the March 24, 2017 filing. I made a mistake and mistook Cause of Action Number 2 as an allegation of “sexual harassment”. From the filing, “Second Cause of Action: “Harassment on the basis of disability”. No where in the filing was there a reference to “sexual harassment”.
I was wrong in making the statement that the filing had any sexual references—I sincerely apologize for that error to Supervisor Spitzer.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I received a call from the Supervisor, with him advising me of the mistake. To prove it, he sent me a copy of the complaint. He also sent me a copy of his response. Spitzer totally disagrees with the charges and the Orange County Board of Supervisors have voted to finance his defense with tax dollars.
Stephen Frank, 3/30/17
First Cause of Action: “Discrimination on the basis of Disability”
Second Cause of Action: “Harassment on the basis of disability”
Third Cause of Action: “Retaliation in violation of Government Code”
Fourth Cause of Action: “Failure to Prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation”
Fifth Cause of Action: “Failure to Accommodate in violation of Government Code”
Sixth Cause of Action: “Failure to Engage in the Interactive Process in violation of Government Code”
Seventh Cause of Action: “Failure to Pay for all hours worked (Fair Labor Standards)”
Eighth Cause of Action: “Failure to pay for overtime compensation (Fair Labor Standards)”
As can be told there are no charges of sexual harassment—and I again sincerely apologize to Supervisor Spitzer for this error.
As part of my conversation yesterday with Supervisor Spitzer I asked him about a question raised by the Anaheim Blog in regard to this lawsuit.
“Richter worked for Spitzer’s 2012 supervisorial campaign. He subsequently hired her as an executive assistant in February 2013, a position she held until her firing in October 2016. Last week, Richter filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, alleging multiple violations of labor and disability rules, and charging Spitzer with a “raging temper” and saying he ran his office through “fear and aggression.”
Spitzer’s statement leaves unanswered the question of why he hired and kept on the County payroll for three years someone whom he now claims lacked the basic job skills to work for the County.”
The spritzer response was that she never reported to him, just a series of Chiefs of Staff and others, so he had no idea about her skills.
Again, I am sorry for misstating a Cause of Action of “sexual harassment”, for the filed Cause of Action for “Harassment on the basis of Disability”.
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