Attorneys to Kevin Johnson: Don’t hug city workers
Four months after a former city employee accused Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson of sexual harassment, a law firm hired by the city wrote in a confidential memo that Johnson should “be advised as to how his actions (i.e. hugging and being flirty) are being perceived” by some city employees, and that he should “refrain from hugging or touching anyone” at City Hall or at city-related events.
The legal memo, obtained by The Sacramento Bee, was written in response to a sexual harassment claim filed in April against Johnson by Ilee Muller, a former staff aide to City Manager John Shirey.
The mayor denied the allegations, and the law firm that wrote the Aug. 7 memo – Angelo, Kilday & Kilduff – conducted an investigation that determined Muller’s claim was unsubstantiated. Muller had sought $200,000 in damages from the city, but her claim was denied in May by a closed-door vote of the City Council.
While Muller’s claim was denied, the legal memo stated that an investigation by city human resources manager Kenneth Fleming found “some employees” had perceptions of Johnson’s behavior that prompted the law firm to suggest he “be counseled to refrain from hugging or touching anyone in the workplace or at work-related events (outside of a hand shake).”
The mayor’s office declined comment on the memo Thursday because it is a confidential attorney-client privileged document. However, the mayor’s campaign spokesman, Steve Maviglio, said, “the mayor has taken sexual harassment training; he’s very aware of what’s appropriate and what’s not.”
“Telling a politician not to hug someone is like telling a fisherman not to fish,” he said.
The legal advice to Johnson was one of three recommendations attorneys Carolee Kilduff and Cori Sarno provided City Attorney James Sanchez before closing their file on the harassment case against the mayor.
The attorneys also advised that Shirey, City Clerk Shirley Concolino and city director of governmental affairs Randi Knott receive training on reporting suspected cases of harassment and that the training be documented by the city. The memo stated all three “had knowledge” of Muller’s complaint against the mayor, but did not adequately report it to the city’s human resources department.
Shirey and Concolino received follow-up training on their reporting obligations, according to the memo. Knott said in an interview that she was not told about the recommendation that she receive training.
Finally, the memo recommended that “each elected and appointed official who oversees personnel undertake sexual harassment training.”
An internal city audit released last month found 1,085 of 1,112 city supervisors who had been asked to take the training had done so. Johnson requested in August that everyAttorneys to Kevin Johnson: Don’t hug city workers | The Sacramento Bee: