A Board of Elections bigwig accused of sexually harassing two staff stated gays “bothered” him and “heterosexuals had been being discriminated towards” on the metropolis company, an explosive new $5 million courtroom submitting claims.
Board of Elections Govt Director Michael Ryan “brazenly” made offensive jokes in regards to the workplace’s annual sensitivity coaching to a lawyer working underneath him, Stephanie Jaquez, in keeping with a petition filed by Jaquez towards Ryan and the BOE in Manhattan on Friday.
Jaquez, a former affiliate basic counsel for the BOE, wrote that Ryan was “bothered by the variety of homosexual staff referenced within the coaching” and “prompt that it was proof that heterosexuals had been being discriminated towards” on the metropolis company.
The submitting comes simply days after town’s Division of Investigation launched a scathing report the place it took the “uncommon step” of recommending Ryan’s termination.
Regardless of the probe, the Board of Elections rejected the findings in favor of a slap on the wrist — inserting the 58-year-old Ryan on unpaid depart for 3 weeks and forcing him to endure further sensitivity coaching.
Ryan was paid $289,662 final yr, in keeping with metropolis information
Ryan is accused of routinely making sexual, racial and ethnic feedback and allegedly requested feminine staff “how younger is simply too younger.” He additionally allegedly tried to the touch Jaquez’s face, making her “extraordinarily uncomfortable,” in keeping with the courtroom submitting.
Jaquez bristled on the BOE’s resolution handy Ryan three weeks of unpaid depart “through the holidays.”
“What [executive director] Ryan did was illegal and in violation of my human rights. It isn’t merely a matter of being extra delicate,” she wrote.
Jaquez additionally alleges that the sensitivity course Ryan is now mandated to take part in is identical one that every one BOE staff attend yearly, and one he has “brazenly” mocked prior to now, her submitting states.
The submitting additionally revealed that Jaquez first reported Ryan’s habits to BOE officers final July. She resigned every week later.
The DOI report stated present BOE protections for staff had “important deficiencies” and issued a number of suggestions aimed toward strengthening protocols.
“The BOE’s failure to adequately think about the DOI’s suggestions displays a deeper systemic concern,” Jaquez informed The Publish Monday.
Jaquez’s case is just not technically a lawsuit but, since her discover of declare was filed exterior of the 90-day window, as a result of confidential nature of the DOI investigation, her lawyer informed The Publish.
“The regulation is clearly in Ms. Jaquez’s favor, and we anticipate the courtroom to grant her request,” stated lawyer Annie Seifullah. “This might permit her to maneuver ahead with a lawsuit towards the BOE Commissioners and its Govt Director for the discrimination and hostile work atmosphere she endured—allegations that the DOI has already substantiated.”
Ryan can also be on probation for a yr and launched an apologetic assertion final week following the report’s launch.
“Whereas I dispute these allegations and disagree with the report’s conclusion, I settle for the willpower of the Commissioners in the most effective curiosity of the Company,” Ryan’s assertion learn.
The Board of Elections didn’t reply to repeated requests for remark.
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