“Insulting and vicious” was how a county employee Thursday described rumors he alleged were spread by two co-workers that he had an inappropriate relationship with his boss — San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts.
Harold Meza filed the hostile work environment lawsuit against Roberts’ former Chief of Staff Glynnis Vaughan and ex-scheduler Diane Porter.
In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Superior Court, Meza said the defendants embarked on a smear campaign against him soon after Meza walked away from Porter after she made a “vivid, obscene comment” to him about her intimate marital problems.
Vaughan and Porter resigned from Roberts’ office in April and subsequently filed a claim with the county that alleges a series of improprieties in Roberts’ office, including that Meza and Roberts had an inappropriate relationship.
The women did not allege that the relationship between Roberts and Meza was sexual, but rather that Roberts showed favoritism toward Meza, who is also Roberts’ driver.
Roberts’ office said a series of text messages sent by the supervisor, in which he mentioned sharing a bed on a work trip with Meza, were merely inappropriate jokes.
In Porter’s claim, she said she and her husband saw Roberts try to spoon-feed Meza at an event.
Meza — who was hired nearly a year ago as Roberts’ policy advisor and community representative — denied any suggestion on inappropriate conduct — sexual or otherwise — with Roberts.
“To imply that anything inappropriate occurred is insulting and vicious,” Meza told reporters. “Supervisor Roberts is a happily gay married man with six adopted foster children. I am a straight man in a great relationship with a woman.”
Meza’s attorney, Dan Gilleon, said his client’s lawsuit has nothing to do with the claims filed by Porter and Vaughan,
Porter’s attorney, Chris Morris, said Meza’s claims will ultimately be the responsibility of the county.
Morris said Roberts’ text messages made Porter and Vaughan uncomfortable and they took their concerns to their supervisor.
Eight people have resigned from Roberts’ office since he took office in January 2013.
The supervisor has denied allegations that he made employees work on political activities during work hours and spend office money on campaign materials, and created a hostile work environment, especially for women.
— City News Service
