Former Janitor Sues City, Alleges Sexual Harassment

A former city employee has filed a lawsuit against the city alleging she was sexually harassed by a male co-worker and then fired after she complained to supervisors.

Linda Garner, 31, a janitor with the city’s transit agency, is seeking an unspecified amount in general and punitive damages as well as reimbursement of medical expenses and lost wages for the alleged harassment.

Attorneys for Garner mailed the suit Monday, following the city’s rejection March 2 of a claim filed against the city in January. By law, any suit against a government agency must be preceded by a claim.

Her attorney, Fred Crawford, declined to comment, other than to say that he hopes the matter is resolved quickly.

City Atty. David Hirsch, who has not seen the lawsuit, also declined to comment on the litigation.

“We’ll have to review the lawsuit before deciding on what defense to present,” he said.

According to the lawsuit, Garner alleges that the harassment began soon after she was hired to clean the city’s fleet of buses in April 1997.

Garner maintains that Jose Negrete, a male co-worker named in the suit as a co-defendant, made repeated sexual advances, directed vulgar comments toward her and even went as far as to grope her breasts. Negrete could not be reached for comment Monday.

Garner alleges that she promptly reported the incidents to supervisors and fellow employees--some of whom witnessed the alleged acts--but was told to ignore the advances because a harassment claim would “blow up in your face.”

Garner’s attorney said that during the summer of 1997 she filed several complaints with Simi Valley police and with the city’s Human Resources Department.

She was fired Oct. 14, 1997, for unspecified reasons.

She has since moved from her Ventura apartment to live with relatives in Los Angeles.