A judge Wednesday pared a lawsuit brought by the former political organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles against the organization, in which she says she was forced to resign in 2019 due to sexual harassment inflicted by two co-workers, removing both men as defendants in the case.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Burdge Jr. found that neither UTLA nor the two individual defendants — Brian McNamara, UTLA’s field and organizing director for field services, and Carl Joseph, the organization’s representation coordinator/housed teachers representative for field services — had violated plaintiff Astine Suleimanyan’s civil rights because she provided no evidence of any threat of physical violence.
The judge also dismissed Suleimanyan’s sexual harassment claim against UTLA and the two men. He rejected arguments by Suleimanyan’s attorney, Aaron Osten, that his client’s efforts to file a timely complaint with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing before suing were hampered by errors and misleading information given by DFEH employees. Osten said the claim should remain in the case for a jury to decide.
Defense attorney Kathleen Erskine told the judge a DFEH employee informed Suleimanyan how much time she had to file her DFEH complaint and that the plaintiff was not given misleading information.
Suleimanyan can proceed to trial with her remaining claims against UTLA, which include wrongful discharge, retaliation and failure to prevent discrimination and harassment.
Suleimanyan was hired in September 2015, and her job duties consisted of managing and running various campaigns, overseeing and coordinating phone bank operations and preparing and facilitating political workshops, the suit filed in March 2020 states.
Her annual salary was about $97,000, the suit states.
Throughout her UTLA employment, the 38-year-old Toluca Lake woman was subjected to “severe, pervasive, sexual, derogatory, offensive, physically/verbally abusive and outrageous conduct” by McNamara and Joseph, the suit alleges.
McNamara allegedly told the plaintiff she “was hired because she was pretty” and followed her during a work conference, including to the restroom. He stood close behind her during a job-related dinner and often raised his voice in an “aggressive, threatening and demeaning manner,” toward her, the suit states.
Joseph told Suleimanyan that he wished he was the same age as her because there were things “he wanted to do to her,” the suit alleges.
He also allegedly told her to “come sit on big papa’s lap” and asked her for her gum so that he could “taste” her, and allegedly made make sexual gestures with his tongue toward her.
Suleimanyan believes UTLA’s administration knew about the alleged conduct, yet did nothing to stop it and ratified the behavior by continuing to employ both men, the suit states.
She frequently reported the pair’s alleged harassing, discriminatory and abusive conduct to UTLA management, the suit states. In retaliation for coming forward, UTLA stripped her of her employment duties, refused to accommodate her workplace medical restrictions and harassed her about her those limitations in violation of her privacy, the suit alleges.
Suleimanyan also alleges she was discriminated against because she was paid less than numerous UTLA male colleagues. In a sworn declaration, the plaintiff explained why conditions became so intolerable for her.
UTLA retaliated against Suleimanyan for complaining by changing her job duties to administrative work, preventing any professional growth on her part, and by writing her up for unfounded accusations, she alleges.
“Ultimately, the work environment and retaliation was so severe and unbearable that I was forced to resign from my employment (in November 2019),” she said.
Suleimanyan currently is employed as a legislative coordinator with a unit of SEIU Local 121RN, which represents nurses, according to Erskine’s court papers.