Newport settles ageism and sexism claim by former assistant city attorney for $150,000
The city of Newport Beach will pay $150,000 to a former assistant city attorney to settle her claim that her one-time boss, City Attorney Aaron Harp, discriminated against her and created a hostile workplace.
Leonie Mulvihill, who worked for the city from December 2009 to January 2017 before leaving for a similar job in Anaheim, alleged ageism and sexism during what she said were years of mistreatment and retaliation from Harp.
The settlement, finalized May 2 and announced Tuesday night, denies Mulvihill’s claims and heads off a potential lawsuit. Harp has previously denied wrongdoing.
Mulvihill filed a complaint with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing in May 2017.
Mulvihill, who has not disclosed her age but says she is older than 40, detailed work reassignments and exclusion from previous duties, including interviewing potential counsel, moving her from land use and planning to risk management and litigation, and giving planning assignments to a male attorney with less experience in the area.
The claim also described deteriorating performance reviews, a decision to assign the duties of acting city attorney to a lower-ranking deputy city attorney when Harp went on vacation, and a pattern of abuse that she said caused other employees to leave.
According to the claim, after Mulvihill spoke to Harp about the way attorneys in the office were treating support staff, he started questioning her about her work hours, which she said he didn’t do to younger male attorneys, and gave her a letter saying her job performance was a problem.
She said she complained to the city in 2014 and got no response and wrote a grievance to the city in 2016 but never heard anything further after being interviewed by an outside investigator.
The city said in a previous statement that the 2016 investigation — called for by then-Mayor Diane Dixon and led by two women — closed after months of work with the conclusion that Mulvihill’s allegations were unsubstantiated and that she voluntarily resigned during the investigation.
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