Lea este artículo en español aquí.
It didn’t take long for Hollister City Manager Ana Cortez to make structural changes within the city that resulted in the elimination of multiple leadership positions.
The effect of those moves continued to spread when an unnamed former employee filed a lawsuit on July 28 in San Benito County Superior Court against the city, Cortez and her company Munitalent.
In the lawsuit, the ex-employee listed as “Jane Doe,” accuses the city and Cortez of retaliation and wrongful termination. The former employee also accuses the city of intentionally inflicting emotional distress and accuses Cortez of violating state law for using her own company, Munitalent, to recruit employees while serving as the city manager.
Cortez began as city manager in February.
Doe, who is believed to be former longtime city employee Maria Mendez, is seeking undisclosed compensation and general damages. She also is asking the court to void contracts related to Munitalent recruiting employees and attorney fees.
Cortez did not immediately respond for comment.
A case management conference is scheduled for Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m. at the county courthouse.
According to the lawsuit, Doe was employed by the city for more than 20 years and most recently as the cannabis affairs manager. That position was most recently held by Mendez, who with two other former employees filed a complaint against Cortez in May.
Doe alleges the city violated labor and fair employment laws when she was retaliated against after she reported “conduct that she reasonably believed violated state law” to individuals with authority over her employment.
According to the filing, Doe was subjected to “adverse employment actions, culminating in the elimination of her position, denial of her contractual and statutory employment rights, and the termination of her employment.”
It goes on to say Doe and the city previously settled a Fair Employment and Housing Act lawsuit and that the city “regarded her as ‘litigious” and thereafter “engaged in a course of retaliatory conduct.”
According to the filing, Doe’s employment was terminated because she engaged in whistleblower activity.
“Rather than addressing plaintiff’s protected disclosures and complaints, defendants retaliated against her by eliminating her position, … refusing to place her into available positions for which she was qualified, and ultimately terminating her employment,” the lawsuit argued.
The filing alleges Cortez violated state law because she used her consulting company to recruit for open positions.
“Any contract or arrangement between the city and Munitalent for recruitment or consulting services, or any use of Munitalent to recruit candidates for city positions, constitutes a contract made by Cortez in her official capacity as city manager,” the lawsuit said.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.