The city of San Francisco may find itself in court yet again over accusations of a pervasive culture of bullying and sexual harassment at the its parking-enforcement division.
This comes after parking control officer Lesley Howard sued the city last month, alleging that her supervisor continually harassed and sexually groped her, despite her numerous complaints.
Howard’s lawsuit, filed May 29, alleges that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency — and, by extension, the city — failed to rein in the behavior of her supervisor, Alfredo Nadarisay.
Beginning in August 2024, Howard alleges that Nadarisay, a former Hercules police officer, would pull her aside for “personal trainings,” which quickly escalated from verbal harassment to repeatedly touching her inappropriately.
On Aug. 16 of last year, Howard alleges that Nadarisay moved his hand down her back and “grabbed her butt.” At this, “[Howard] was stunned, and caught in a moment of shock and confusion,” reads the suit. “But [she] moved away, and told him not to ever do that again.”
At other times, the suit alleges, Nadarisay called Howard “sexy” in front of other staff, and told colleagues he wanted her to “suck his dick.”
Howard says her requests that he stop this behavior were met with a few days’ peace, at the most, before she would feel herself being grabbed again.
“Within only a few days, and while on this ‘personal’ training, Nadarisay touched her back and butt agan,” reads the suit. Then, the suit adds, Nadarisay “quickly moved away while smiling and winking.”
The SFMTA declined to comment on the details of the lawsuit, but Erica Kato, a spokesperson, said the agency “takes harassment extremely seriously.”
Howard’s suit comes on the heels of a trial last month for a 2022 lawsuit filed against the city by former SFMTA parking control officer Elias Georgopoulos. He alleged that the SFMTA failed to protect him from harassment and discrimination. After literally minutes of deliberation, a jury disagreed, finding no wrongdoing on the part of the city.
The victory for the city, however, could be a Pyrrhic one: A significant portion of the defense’s argument that Georgopoulos did not deserve financial compensation hinged on allegations that Georgopoulos himself harassed subordinates at SFMTA for years before his resignation in 2022, particularly subordinates who are women of color.
Nearly every current and former SFMTA employee who took the stand described being bullied and harassed by colleagues during their time at the parking enforcement division, just not in ways that backed up Georgopoulos’ allegations.
Reporting revealed that employees had complained about Georogpoulos’ behavior over decades, which they say included sexual harassment, physical intimidation and attacking an SFMTA employee and two drivers with pepper spray.
Howard does not have a similar history of workplace complaints. She says her rejection of her supervisor’s advances led to retaliation against her. The suit alleges Nadarisay instructed another officer to brief him on her every move and that she was “not allowed to talk” during her shift.
“Anything [the officer] said to her was as if it were coming from Nadarisay himself,” reads the suit. “[Howard] could be written up if she did not ‘obey.’”
During a roll call session, the suit alleges Nadarisay humiliated Howard in front of other officers by announcing that he would vote for Howard to be “PCO [parking control officer] of the month” because she was “sexy.”
Though Howard says that the room was “shocked” after Nadarisay made that comment, and “there were a few mumbles expressing shock and disgust,” Nadarisay purportedly told other officers during the roll call that he wanted Howard to “suck his big dick.”
Nadarisay allegedly denied Howard’s repeated attempts to transfer to other posts. When she asked Nadarisay why, she was allegedly told she had to be “nicer” to him to “figure something out.”
Howard claims she reported Nadarisay’s behavior numerous times, to no avail. Those attempts purportedly include communications to her supervisors through written complaints, communications to her union representatives, requests for an assignment change, and complaints with San Francisco’s Equal Employment Opportunity Office.
The suit also alleges that Howard was not Nadarisay’s only target.
“Approximately one dozen women and people of color have complained to SFMTA and the City about Nadarisay’s brazen and continuous sexual harassment and racial harassment,” the suit reads. “[The City has] taken no action to prevent Nadarisay from continuing to abuse women and people of color employed under his authority.”
Nadarisay’s employment history should have been a red flag for the agency, the lawsuit adds. Before being hired by the SFMTA in 2013, Nadarisay worked in Contra Costa County as a police officer. He was fired in 2002 by the Hercules Police Department for beating a man so badly that he fractured his eye socket, and then filing false charges against him.
While disciplinary actions against police officers can be difficult for new employers to get a hold of, in this case Nadarisay sued his former employer, and lost, in 2007, leaving a significant paper trail.
Howard is seeking damages for emotional distress, lost wages, and costs for attorney’s fees, and will be represented by former deputy city attorney Na’il Benjamin.
“The City strives to create a workplace free from harassment and discrimination,” said Jen Kwart, the communications director for the city attorney’s office. “We are reviewing the complaint and will respond in court.”
Also quotas ( it’s illegal , but retaliation if not met ) for tickets the department forces its employees to make along with ticket price hikes that puts pcos at risk of more abuse. Lack of care of pcos , shortage of cars , vehicles and faulty equipment. Poor training , pack mentality, hostile work environment, harassment on all levels , supervisors that insist on using terms of Sargent for their own ego…list goes on &on about how dysfunctional this department is
Did the city look into this supervisor’s background as a police officer in Hercules? If so, did they see or similar complaints in his file? Did they bother to look at his file at all? Did they hire him anyway/no matter what? How deep an investigation will the city perform now? How much are self-insurance settlements costing the SF taxpayers?
I’m sure the City Attorney will fight this case to the death and waste this poor victim’s time and money. They should just settle but David Chou instructs his minions to fight tooth and nail. It’s also ingrained in them to treat opponents and their lawyers like garbage. It’s effective. I’m a plaintiff’s attorney and will never sue the city again. Such a pathetic waste of money on the part of the City. I wish Mission Local would do a story on that office.
The SFMTA is a full of mismanagement and corruption in so many ways. It needs to be taken apart and reassembled so that it is productive. Every aspect of the agency is mismanaged and unproductive. I hope Howard walks away with a huge award for the distress and anguish this experience has cost her. Mayor Lurie, take this agency apart and rebuild it so that no one has to suffer this way.
I hope she wins what she deserves and that this agency is put under the microscope. Also, how did this serial assaulter get the job? Is he related to someone in a position within the SFMTA or another part of SF city government?
There is more to this story but alas, HR files are confidential. So convenient because the HR of SF city and county is rife with corruption. Jonny just graduated, and his uncle is a big deal so let’s give Jonny a job and excuse his excessive absences, violations of conduct, and poor performance reviews.
Just a preliminary look through one department will prove this. I’d start with DBI to be sure! But SFMTA and SFUSD also will provide ample evidence of counterproductive and nonsensical hiring practices. Audit the whole darn thing.
And she will not win these allegations are false we as people need to stop judging people on allegations none of these things has been proven it’s unfortunate that the person who wrote this article did not do research on everything that’s in this article. Please do not delete my comment you as a writer should be neutral everybody should be allowed to have an opinion even if you don’t agree
Domonique —
No one has deleted any of your comments. These are approved in real time and there isn’t someone hovering over the keyboard waiting for you to to click “Enter.”
These are allegations made publicly and on the record in a legal document, e.g. a lawsuit. The anonymous rejoinder of “nuh-uh” is not an equivalent.
Best,
JE
Yes, maybe the City should overhaul the department. Do a real investigation for once. You throw a bunch of people with different backgrounds, attitudes, and no real background checks and expect them to work together in harmony? Show me a department within SF that works well with others? Seems like the hiring is no different then those who are hired in fast food. Im just saying.