The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed May in which Mariana Garcia, 25, accused Alejandro Ruiz-Velasco, 42, of sexually harassing her from to There is no court record of the settlement because the parties agreed to settle out of court. The document itself is public, but none of the parties involved are allowed to talk about it because of a non-disclosure provision written into the settlement agreement.
Gilleon told the Union-Tribune he was reminded of the confidentiality provision of the agreement after speaking with the Reader. He shared a copy of the complaint from the May lawsuit but declined to answer more questions about the settlement agreement.
Garcia worked as a project coordinator for the Department of Economic Development. They worked under different supervisors. Garcia told Ruiz-Velasco to leave her alone, that she would never go out with him so he should stop asking her out. Garcia asked her supervisor to follow up with Human Resources. Ruiz-Velasco hired his own attorney, Mitchell Dean, in October Dean did not respond to a request for comment or a request to speak with his client, Ruiz-Velasco.
By January , Garcia had met with a psychiatrist who prescribed medication and wrote her a note requesting she be moved to another work site because of anxiety and panic attacks, according to court documents.
The city moved Garcia to a temporary work site but did not allow her to take any of her personal belongings from her old cubicle. The city took no action against Ruiz-Velasco, according to the lawsuit. A city spokeswoman, Anne Steinberger, declined to comment on the settlement, citing the nondisclosure stipulation. The city has a discrimination and sexual harassment policy in place, which it strictly enforces.
