Ex-Reporter Claims She Was Sexually Harassed
A former San Diego Union reporter has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was the target of sexual harassment by a female editor and eventually lost her job because of it.
Lillian Mei-Mei Wang, 30, of Palos Verdes filed the suit Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court, claiming she was the subject of sexually suggestive comments, “unwelcome pet names” and ongoing requests for dates from her editor, Sandra Dolbee.
Named as defendants are Dolbee, a former county editor who is now a religion and ethics writer, and The Copley Press Inc., which publishes the paper, now the San Diego Union-Tribune. The suit seeks unspecified damages for lost wages and emotional distress. It also seeks punitive damages.
Dolbee could not be reached Wednesday for comment, but she told the Associated Press, “It’s simply not true.”
Wang, who worked in the paper’s Oceanside office, said Wednesday that the stress became so bad that she sought therapy and took a disability leave last September.
She was still on leave when she learned that she would be among employees laid off when the Union merged Feb. 2 with its sister paper, the San Diego Tribune, she said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
