Young Mother Sues Cathedral City for Discrimination

Former Assistant City Planner Sues Cathedral City for Harassment, Discrimination

CATHEDRAL CITY — A 26-year-old Latina woman, who was employed as an assistant city planner, is suing the city for race, disability and sex discrimination.

Megan Beaman Jacinto filed the lawsuit earlier this month on behalf of Irene Gorosave-Torres in Riverside County Superior Court.  She is seeking a jury trial. She is suing both the City of Cathedral City, and her former supervisor Robert Rodriguez.

“Our client Ms. Gorosave greatly looked forward to growing her public service career at the City of Cathedral City, but that dream was abruptly ended by the City’s ongoing discriminatory conduct toward her,” Beaman Jacinto told Uken Report. “At the most precious and vulnerable time of her life — in her first pregnancy — City management subjected her to repugnant harassment and discrimination, clouding her pregnancy and childbirth experience with humiliation, anxiety, and depression.  We are hopeful that Ms. Gorosave’s legal action will address her damages as well as ensure that other employees are treated fairly and lawfully in the future.”

Ryan Hunt, communications and events manager, said, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”

Gorosave-Torres has been actively seeking replacement employment since her termination but has been unsuccessful up to now, Beaman Jacinto said.  She has also begun work toward her PhD.

According to the lawsuit, Cathedral City hired Gorosave-Torres on or about July 25, 2022 as an Assistant Planner. Rodriguez, Director of Development, was her direct supervisor, but associate planners Brenda Ramirez and Melanie Segura also gave orders to Gorosave-Torres and trained her.

On the same date of Gorosave-Torres’ hire, or alternatively within a number of days, her doctor had just confirmed that she was pregnant.  In short order, Gorosave-Torres told Rodriguez as well as the Human Resources department that she was pregnant, in order to ensure their future understanding for anticipated need for brief time off for doctor appointments and, later, parental leave, according to the lawsuit. In response, Rodriguez asked Gorosave-Torres if she purposely omitted sharing that information in hter interview.

From that point on, Gorosave-Torres began feeling that Rodriguez in particular, but also other managers, were treating her differently than the non-pregnant employees, according to the lawsuit.  At one point, an employee warned her that Cathedral City was experiencing a high turnover rate. Gorosave-Torres did not respond but took the comment to be a suggestion that she could be terminated or laid off anytime.

Moreover, Rodriguez allegedly displayed and outward preference for male employees.  For example, Rodriguez allegedly formed a quick relationship with another male employee (Jesse) who was hired the same week as Gorosave-Torres, inviting him to play golf and spend time together as friends.  Rodriguez had allegedly turned down a female employee who asked to join the golf outings, saying he did not like golfing with “girls.”  Rodriguez also had a close relationship with another male employee, Victor Gomez, hired after Ms. Gorosave, who turned out to be the childhood friend of Rodriguez’s son.  Additionally, Rodriguez frequently shared his lunch break and spent time with male employees, and did not do the same with female employees, all according to the lawsuit.

Rodriguez’s racial biases were displayed in the workplace as well, according to the lawsuit.  Rodriguez did not appreciate when Gorosave-Torres would speak Spanish with other co-workers at the office, which she did occasionally.  When he heard it, he would allegedly order them to get back to work.

According to the lawsuit, at various points during her pregnancy, Gorosave-Torres noted that Rodriguez tended to scold Gorosave-Torres for minor issues that were common with other employees as well, such as a single incident on which she (as part of a group of employees who were not scolded) returned to work late from lunch due to a vehicle breakdown.  Rodriguez also denied Gorosave-Torres’ requests for time off for doctor appointments on various occasions, while approving other employees’ requests for time off.

In a September 27, 2022, meeting regarding business license renewal for sexually oriented business, Gorosave-Torres shared that she had been unable to reach a particular Director, who was needed as part of the review and approval process, according to the lawsuit. Rodriguez responded by suggesting (presumably as a joke) that the City dress Gorosave-Torres up undercover as an erotic dancer in order to try to encourage response.  Gorosave-Torres allegedly became uncomfortable and left the meeting.

Rodriguez’s alleged ongoing disdain and jokes about Gorosave-Torres’ pregnancy encouraged other employees to act in the same or similar ways toward her, according to the lawsuit. or example, on or about October 5, 2022, a finance department employee in the break room with Gorosave-Torres asked her due date, then suggested that she hold the baby in longer, since her baby is a joke.

Notwithstanding the confusing nature of this “joke,” Gorosave-Torres was horrified, and left the break room.  Due the impact of the incident, Gorosave-Torres avoided the break room for the remainder of her pregnancy.

No trial date has been set.

“We seek jury trials in all of our cases to let our clients’ peers decide what violations and damages occurred, and what the employer must pay them as a result,” Beaman Jacinto said.