Recent Lawsuit in the San Mateo County Assessor's Office

Check out this latest lawsuit in the Assessor’s Office. Read the full content here. 

Summary of This Lawsuit:

Alicia Garcia, a long-term San Mateo County employee with strong credentials including a master’s degree in public administration and a track record of positive performance reviews, filed a complaint alleging racial and disability discrimination in the Assessor County Clerk Recorder Elections Department. Garcia had been recognized with an Employee of the Month Award in 2014 and a Board of Supervisors Commendation in 2018, but beginning in Spring 2023, her work environment deteriorated significantly when her supervisor Julieta Fernandez became her de facto supervisor under Mark Church.

Garcia alleges that Fernandez subjected her to a systematic pattern of hostile treatment motivated by her Hispanic ethnicity. Specific allegations include being passed over for promotions despite qualifications, assigned menial tasks and an inferior cubicle on a different floor, forced to work 50% of her time in uncompensated overtime, stripped of earned vacation time, excluded from work seminars and meetings, publicly humiliated and criticized without cause, and denied necessary departmental communications. Garcia also claims that Fernandez told coworkers she wanted to “annihilate” Garcia because she was not Filipino, and that supervisor James Irizarry failed to take meaningful steps to stop the harassment.

The complaint asserts 12 causes of action including racial discrimination, disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, hostile work environment, bullying, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Garcia claims the County’s HR Department conducted inadequate investigations into her complaints and allowed the misconduct to continue. She seeks damages for lost wages, emotional distress including anxiety and depression, punitive damages, and attorney fees under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.