Former County aide issues claims of sexual harassment, workplace violence

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A erstwhile Fresno County worker is breaking her silence, revealing what she says led up to her astonishment termination successful September.

Jennifer Ortega pulls backmost the curtain, saying, "They took distant my livelihood, my job, my opportunities, my future, and I can't conscionable fto that descent by."

Ortega is filing claims against the region of Fresno that asseverate an unlawful firing.

"She was terminated by the region little than 90 days aft making a protected study of imaginable workplace violence," said Ortega's attorney, Laura Brown.

Ortega began moving arsenic a communications adjutant successful Supervisor Garry Bredefeld's bureau successful February, but implicit the summer, she says, an incidental with her supervisor, Daniel Gai, changed everything.

"He was aggravated and yelling, cursing and screaming successful the mediate of the office, and I was conscionable sitting astatine my desk. It was scary," Ortega said.

Ortega says connected June 13th, Gai returned from luncheon precise upset, telling america helium followed her into her bureau erstwhile she tried to region herself from the situation.

Brown says helium "got up truly adjacent to her, was raising his voice, shouting, wagging his digit successful her look and saying words to the effect of 'I got you this job, you should beryllium grateful for this.'"

In 2019, portion moving astatine City Hall, Gai was convicted of much than 5 felonies related to a home unit incident.

Ortega says it didn't interest her, focused much connected her vocation than mistakes of idiosyncratic else's past, saying, "I wanted to instrumentality a occupation that I felt was worthy of my experience, and I felt similar I was going to bash a bully job, and I could benignant of springiness him grace that that was successful his past."

Ortega reported the incidental to Bredefeld, who told her he'd, 'take attraction of it.'

On September 20th, Ortega was fired, she says, without notice.

The determination came wrong her probationary period.

County argumentation says probationary rejections "must see a connection successful penning of the reasons for the rejection."

Ortega did not.

We reached retired to Supervisor Bredefeld for a comment, but arsenic we pushed for answers, Bredefeld declined our request, sending this connection instead, reading,

"We don't usually remark connected pending claims oregon litigation, but successful this case, I cognize the County's actions were wholly justified and the galore facts volition show Ms. Ortega's assertion is baseless."

Action News did scope retired to Daniel Gai arsenic well, but received nary response.

The region has 45 days to respond to the claim.

If it's rejected, Ortega tin writer successful court.