We strongly encourage any woman who is considering participation in an interview with the investigator hired by the California Assembly and Senate, or any other investigation conducted by the state legislature, to contact an attorney to discuss their rights. Attorneys in our office would be happy to assist you in evaluating your legal rights with respect to these investigations, as well as the actual claims of harassment.
Background: On October 18, 2017, 147 high-powered women who work for, or with, the California state legislature signed a statement indicating that they were sick “of dehumanizing behavior by men with power in our workplace.” Signatories included current and former legislators, lobbyists, Capitol staffers, political consultants and attorneys. Over the next week, the number of signatories doubled to 300 and the campaign has been dubbed “We Said Enough.”
In response to the statement, as well as a spate of newspaper articles, the California state Senate and Assembly have indicated that they intend to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment. While the investigation by the Assembly has not yet begun, the California Senate has hired a private investigator – Amy Oppenheimer — to interview women who signed the statement. And, last week, many of the women who signed the statement were sent a letter, which invited them to participate in interviews with Ms. Oppenheimer. According to the letter, participation in such interviews is entirely voluntarily and people who choose to participate are entitled to bring an attorney with them to the interview.
Again, we strongly encourage women to bring an attorney with them and not sign any documents without having them reviewed by counsel.
