The former chief of staff of a California senator sued the Senate and his former boss on Thursday over alleged sexual harassment.
Chad Condit filed the lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court against State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, who was elected in 2022 as a Democrat for the 4th District, which includes areas along the Nevada border between Reno and Las Vegas. In August, she changed her party affiliation to Republican, according to CalMatters.
The lawsuit alleges that Alvarado-Gil manipulated Condit by revealing intimate details of her life, asking him for personal favors and forcing him into an “unequal and submissive position” when he worked for her in the office. After they developed a controlling relationship, Alvarado-Gil asked Condit to perform oral sex on her, allegedly saying, “I want you to… prove your loyalty.”
“Her inappropriate sexual conduct toward (Condit) and her predatory fixation on his family is behavior that no employer should exhibit, and it is unworthy of a state senator,” Condit’s attorney from Schimmel & Parks, APLC, said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to obtaining justice for our client for the significant harm caused to him by his former boss.”
Alvarado-Gil’s office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment, but her attorney, Ognian Gavrilov, told Politico they plan to fight the “absurd lawsuit.”
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Lawsuit describes ongoing subordination and physical assault
Alvarado-Gil repeatedly inquired about Condit’s marriage and suggested that he have a sexual relationship with her, the complaint says. It also says she made comments about her sexual preferences in front of other employees.
When she allegedly first asked him to perform oral sex on her, Condit was “numb and acting thoughtlessly” due to the subordinate nature of their relationship, the lawsuit says. She continually asked him to do so, according to the complaint.
“(Condit) was humiliated and made to feel empty and subordinate to his boss, a California State Senator, who had power over his career and livelihood,” the complaint states.
In the last case, Condit was injured while attempting to contort his body for oral sex in a car and suffered three herniated disks in his back and a broken hip, the lawsuit says.
Condit claims he made it clear that the advances were unwelcome and was fired in December 2023.
The Senate of the State of California is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit
Condit seeks damages and also names the California State Senate as a defendant. The lawsuit argues that the facts of the case constitute causes of action:
- Sexual harassment – quid pro quo
- Sexual harassment – hostile work environment
- Discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)
- Retaliatory measures in violation of the FEHA
- Failure to prevent harassment, discrimination or retaliation
- Violation of California Labor Code Section 1102.5
- Injunction
- Declaratory action
The California State Senate did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment, but Senate Secretary Erika Contreras told Politico in a statement: “The Senate has not been briefed on this matter, but we are in discussions with counsel to consider next steps. The Senate takes all complaints incredibly seriously, but cannot comment on matters involving pending litigation.”
