California state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, who recently switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, is accused of sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation and violations of other state labor laws against her now-former chief of staff, Chad Condit, who filed a civil lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday.
California State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil accused of sexual harrassment by former employee https://t.co/zu6NAKabIn
— KUSI News (@KUSINews) September 7, 2024
According to the disturbing suit, Alvarado-Gil allegedly forced Condit to engage in a “sex-based quid pro quo relationship” that left him with various bodily injuries.
According to a Fox New report, Condit, who is married, claimed that Alvarado-Gil was an “erratic” and “controlling” boss who imposed a “sexually dominating abuse of authority and power” over him.
“This was a sex-based quid pro quo relationship of unwelcome advances and sexual behaviors coupled with punishment and flexing of power,” the suit alleges.
The report noted that during their final encounter, Condit alleged that Alvarado-Gil forced him to perform oral sex in a car seat that left him with three herniated discs in his back and a collapsed hip from having to “twist and contort” his body in the confined space of the car.
Condit claims he then used his injury as an excuse to refuse Alvarado-Gil’s demands for oral sex, which caused Alvarado-Gil to become unhappy and threaten his job. Alvarado-Gil allegedly retaliated and issued him a disciplinary letter accusing him of inappropriate behavior.
According to the suit, Condit was fired in December after making clear that the senator’s advances were not welcome and undergoing surgery on his hip.
Alvarado-Gil’s attorney, Ognian Gavrilov, told Fox News in a statement that the claims against the senator are false.
“A disgruntled former employee has fabricated an outlandish story, presented without evidence, to get a payday,” Gavrilov said. “We expect that the Senator will be fully cleared of any wrongdoing of these bogus, financially motivated claims.”
The California State Senate is also named in the suit.
“The Senate has not been served in this matter, but we are in discussion with counsel to assess next steps,” Secretary of the Senate Erika Contreras told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The Senate takes all complaints incredibly seriously, but is unable to comment on matters involving pending litigation.”
Jacqui Nguyen, press secretary for the California Senate Republican Caucus, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the senator is fully cooperating.
“Senator Alvarado-Gil is fully cooperating,” Nguyen said. “This is a lawsuit regarding a former employee, so we need to allow the judicial process to go through its course and defer all inquiries to the Senate Rules Committee.”
In early August, Alvarado-Gil announced on Fox News that she was now joining the Republican Party.
“In the past two years that I’ve been working in the Senate, I have not recognized the party that I belong to,” the lawmaker said during her Fox News appearance.
“The Democratic Party is not the party that I signed up for decades ago.”
“I can’t, in good conscience with the values that I have and my commitment to represent the voters of California, continue to call myself a Democrat,” she added.
Alvarado-Gil isn’t up for re-election until 2026.