Former legislative staffer loses discrimination, retaliation lawsuit

SACRAMENTO -- A superior court jury has rejected claims of discrimination and retaliation brought by a former photographer for the State Assembly.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Sacramento County jurors said Christian Koszka has shown some of his claims were likely true but found his superiors had sufficient cause to let him go anyway. Koszka v. California State Assembly, 00199407 (Sac. Super. Ct. filed Aug. 25, 2016).

Unlike several other recent personnel cases involving the Legislature, Koszka did not allege sexual harassment. But the jury agreed Koszka's supervisors pressured him and others to volunteer for political campaigns, sometimes in exchange for time off.

Such practices are common in the Capitol, despite the fact the Legislature's own ethics rules state "legislative resources may be used only for legislative purposes, not for personal or campaign purposes." These rules fall outside the scope of the Political Reform Act of 1974, meaning the state's Fair Political Practices Commission plays no role in enforcing them.

Koszka worked for the Assembly Republican Caucus from 2007 to 2015. According to his complaint, he received "regular pay increases and praise" for his work until May 2012. That's when Erin Guerrero, then the director of member support and outreach for the Republican Caucus, allegedly "held a staff meeting regarding her expectations of employees throughout the upcoming campaign season."

"Plaintiff learned that all Republican Caucus staff were required to work without pay and off the clock to assist in candidate elections," the complaint stated.

The next spring, Koszka claimed, he was harassed by Guerrero and others for not attending a post-election party with alcohol and others during work hours. He alleged this kicked off a period of escalating harassment in which he was given new job duties that were largely pointless.

He later filed claims for medical leave due to depression and stress, leading to what he said was more harassment and ultimately resulting in his layoff.

Koszka's lead attorney, Mary-Alice Coleman of Davis, said even though her client lost, she was pleased the jury agreed with Koszka's whistleblower claims over forced campaigning.

"They believed our client and felt he was wronged," she said. "They were led to believe he would have been laid off anyway."

The Assembly Rules Committee and the Legislative Counsel's office did not return calls seeking comment.

(Disclosure: author is a former Legislative staffer who knew Koszka during some of the period covered by this case).