Thread by @LAist

THREAD:
L.A.'s sexual harassment problem isn't just in Hollywood. It's in City Hall, LAPD and beyond.

We've been closely tracking issues related to sexual harassment in the city and county workforces. Here's a quick history of what's been going on recently ⤵️

2014: Sexual harassment allegations arise against 2 city councilmembers.

In August 2014, LA city agrees to a $75k settlement after a former aide accused then-Councilman Mitch Englander of making sexually inappropriate remarks.

She said Englander had asked if she wanted to "walk into the fire stations and be naked in front of the male firefighters." Englander denied the claims.

In October 2014, a former aide to Councilman Jose Huizar agrees to settle a harassment case filed against him. The agreement reportedly did not involve a payout from the city.

Her lawsuit alleged Huizar had retaliated after she refused to provide him with sexual favors. Huizar said the allegations were false but that he did have an extramarital affair with the woman, who worked for him at the time.

October 2017: Nationally, the #MeToo hashtag and movement start to trend after NYT and New Yorker break stories revealing decades of allegations of sexual harassment by film producer Harvey Weinstein.

November 2017: Details of widespread problems in the city of Los Angeles emerge during a city council meeting in November 2017. Among them:

December 2017: LA city officials put a new data collection system in place and start requiring all city departments to report sexual harassment incidents within 48 hours of learning about them.

At LA County, the Board of Supervisors orders a review of current County practices.

February 2018: A top city personnel official reports a dramatic increase in misconduct allegations since the new data collection system began — 26 misconduct claims in just two months, compared to 35 claims between 2013 and 2017.

KPCC reports that the city has paid out $8 million in sexual harassment claims and judgments since mid-2011. More than 3/4 of those payouts, representing more than $6 million in city money, were connected to LAPD. scpr.org/news/2018/02/2…

April 2018: Garcetti issues a directive calling for widespread reform on the handling of harassment and workplace conduct issues. A new city website launches in beta to let workers file complaints more easily. The personnel department begins accepting claims without time limits.

Meanwhile, a city survey finds 18 percent of city workers report being sexually harassed — far greater numbers than the city's personnel department had collected through complaint tracking. documentcloud.org/documents/4446…

October 2018: A KPCC/LAist investigation reports sexual harassment among county workers is a persistent and expensive problem. Among the findings:
laist.com/2018/10/17/sex…

January 2019: A lawsuit brought by an LAPD captain alleges that a sexually explicit photo was passed around by officers, lieutenants and others. Her suit claims that even though she's not in the photo, LAPD employees falsely identified it as her and made derogatory comments.

LAPD declined our request for comment on her allegations.

Meanwhile, the mayor's office reports that between April 30, 2018 and January 29, 2019, the city's website received 80 complaints of workplace misconduct.

You can read more in our story here: laist.com/2019/02/06/sex…