A former employee of California Sen. Bob Archuleta has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Pico Rivera Democrat and the state Senate, The Sacramento Bee reported.
The former employee is referred to as “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. She began working for the Legislature in 2006 and worked for Archuleta for 1½ years before leaving in September 2020.
The lawsuit claims Archuleta made inappropriate comments about her breasts, spoke to her about affairs he had and publicly reprimanded and embarrassed her.
The lawsuit claims she experienced workplace discrimination and retaliation after refusing his advances and had to resign after she complained of sexual harassment to a superior.
Archuleta said in an email to the Bee that the claims are false and he looks forward to disproving them in court.
The lawsuit said the employee filed a complaint with the Legislature’s Workplace Conduct Unit but it failed to carry out its duties in a timely manner.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said the Senate Rules Committee was made aware of some but not all the allegations. He said the Workplace Conduct Unit’s probe is on hold because the lawsuit was filed before the investigation was complete.
