LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant who sued the county alleging she was assigned to home duty in retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment by a supervisor with whom she was once in a relationship has reached a tentative settlement in her case, the plaintiff’s attorney told a judge.
Sgt. Janine Hanson’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged sexual harassment, failure to prevent sexual harassment, retaliation and a violation of the state Labor Code. The suit maintained the LASD’s “deplorable and disgusting actions toward (Hanson) in retaliation for her complaints not only have adversely impacted the terms and conditions of plaintiff’s employment, but also constitute continuing harassment on the basis of her sex.”
But during a post-mediation status conference on Monday with Judge Wendy Chang, Hanson’s lawyer informed the judge that settlement agreements have been signed and are awaiting final approval. No terms were divulged.
In their previous court papers, defense lawyers argued the case should be tossed out and that the county granted attorneys’ fees. The county lawyers cited numerous defenses, including that Hanson’s claims belonged in the workers compensation arena and that she did not explore her internal grievance and collective bargaining options before suing.
The county attorneys also maintained that any actions taken against Hanson were done for “legitimate non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory business reasons.”
According to her suit, Hanson was hired in 1997, has been a sergeant since 2015 and was assigned to the LASD Avalon station on Catalina Island in April 2021. The next month, a captain who was Hanson’s supervisor “started to make sexual advances toward her on a regular basis, including by talking about her physical features and their prior sexual relationship, which had ended years prior,” the suit filed in September 2023 stated.
Hanson believes the captain had at least one prior complaint of sexually inappropriate conduct toward other females prior to his alleged inappropriate conduct toward her, the suit stated.
The captain “expressly informed plaintiff that he had selected her for the assignment on the island so they could `fool around’ and that she `belonged to him,”‘ according to the suit, which further alleged the captain leered at Hanson, tried to hug her, offered to massage her and attempted to kiss her.
The captain’s alleged harassment continued for six months even though Hanson rejected his advances, and eventually the captain became hostile and took actions aimed at forcing her to leave the island, the suit stated.
In August 2022, an LASD psychologist called Hanson, saying someone from her division reported that she had an alcohol problem, which Hanson says was untrue and believes originated with the captain, the suit stated.
That same month, the captain asked Hanson to attend a meeting at the Hall of Justice with him and a commander, during which time the commander told the plaintiff that a subordinate reported she had alcohol issues, the suit stated. The commander refused to identify the person who made the report, but said the matter could be resolved if Hanson accepted reassignment off the island, the suit stated.
Hanson then spoke to the same commander and a second commander without the captain’s presence and said the drinking allegation was false and stemmed from the captain’s anger at her resistance to his advances, the suit stated.
Based on her disclosures to the commanders, the captain was assigned to home duty, but in September 2022, Hanson was also transferred to a home assignment based on “another frivolous complaint,” according to the suit, which further stated that the assignment has adversely impacted her health and her ability to promote and obtain desirable positions.
