Legal News

Cal legislature on harassment cases: nothing to see here, move along ...

By Richard Binder

State Senate officials have secretly approved a $70,000 legal settlement that prohibits a staffer who accused a former colleague of harassment from going public with the charges.

The payment, made last month, is the latest in a string of such settlements, most of which include confidentiality clauses that keep taxpayers in the dark about what exactly they are paying to settle and why.

The $70,000 was paid to Allison Bonburg, who was a field representative for U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock when he was a GOP state senator from Thousand Oaks. McClintock, who was elected to Congress in November from a Northern California district, is not the alleged harasser, a legislative source said.

The $70,000 payment to Bonburg, in addition to being contingent on her silence, included her promise not to sue the Senate or any of its members for discrimination or harassment, according to the settlement documents. Bonburg's attorney, Gloria Allred, answered questions about the case by stating: "The matter has been resolved."

Full story at LATimes.com.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on July 16, 2009 (boomark / email).