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San Mateo Attorney Responds to Sexual-Harassment Lawsuit
San Mateo County, CA: A San Mateo County social worker filed a sexual harassment and wrongful termination suit against San Mateo County on November 21, 2007 for what county attorneys allege to be baseless claims. The county stated that she should not be awarded any monetary compensation due to lack of evidence that the treatment she received was sexual harassment.
One of the county's representatives, Sarah Robertson, filed a response to Susan Socha's claims in late December that denied each allegation made by the former employee. Socha worked for the county in the county's Aging and Adult Services Department from 2000-2006 and she is suing the county for damages as a result of harassment, sex discrimination, emotional distress, and wrongful termination.
 Socha claims that she was sexually harassed and intimidated by supervisor, Sam Harary, approximately a year before she was forced into retirement. The former supervisor, Harary, is no longer an employee of the county, but is named in the lawsuit. Socha claims the sexual comments and sexual boasts she encountered were quite consistent and states that she also suffered inappropriate calls to her home and that her grown daughter received some of these calls. Socha also claims that when she complained to superiors, they did not take any action to stop the inappropriate behavior and harassment that was causing her such distress and was also causing problems with her daughter.
One of the representatives for the county, Porter Goldtz, said that Socha's claims were recently investigated and that there were no facts found that supports her allegations.
The county's attorneys state that she failed to provide certain facts that would justify a lawsuit and that she did not exhaust her other options before filing the lawsuit that could have possibly remedied the situation, eliminating the need to file a lawsuit. The county's representatives also state that the statute of limitations to filing has expired.
Robertson stated that, although there is no viable proof that Socha was violated, that if such conduct did take place, Socha welcomed it. Robertson also states that when Socha reached the point in which she complained, her superiors did promptly take the appropriate action to rectify the situation.
Socha's attorney stated on Thursday that the county is simply protecting themselves from liability by making the choice to not believe Socha's claims. The attorney believes that the reason why the county is not admitting that the actions inflicted upon Socha was sexual harassment is because they do not understand the facts. The definition of sexual harassment is quite broad in that it states that it involves unwelcome sexual advances in both a physical or verbal sense. It also involves quid pro quo or "this for that" demands that are of a sexual in nature and even items such as calendars and posters of a sexual nature that may make an employee feel uncomfortable. Other forms of sexual harassment involve crude behavior because of someone's gender and making employment decisions based upon a person's gender. In this case, the county's attorneys are stating that Socha did not have evidence in any of these areas that constituted sexual harassment and that Socha did not exercise all of the options available to her in regards to fighting the harassment that she claimed she went through during her employment at the Aging and Adult Services department
Her lawyer has disputed claims that Socha did not utilize options available to her that would allow her to go through the proper channels before filing the lawsuit. As for the amount of money that Socha is suing for, that has not been disclosed.
By Ginger Gillenwater
Sexual Harassment Legal Help If you have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, please contact a lawyer involved in a possible [Sexual Harassment Lawsuit] to review your case at no cost or obligation.
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