A former staff member of the Alberta Legislature is suing the headquarters, saying he suffered from a toxic workplace culture and was fired in retaliation for talking about the problems he saw there.
The allegations in Ariella Kimmel’s lawsuit include sexual harassment and excessive drinking by ministers and staff at legislative offices, as well as rumors that senior staff in the prime minister’s office have fired her.
Got a copy of the news legal document. No charges have been proven in court.
Kimmel served as chief of staff to the Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation from August 2020 until his dismissal in February 2021. He has worked with Jason Kenny’s UCP government since May 2019.
The claim states that in mid-October 2020, Kimmel found that Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Devin Driesen had been drinking with the chief of staff at his office. Kimmel said he later met at another minister’s office, where the minister and staff in attendance were severely drunk.
During the meeting, Dreishan expressed concern about how much she drank and encouraged her to stop drinking, her statement said.
After she left the suite, the document confessed that the minister confronted her about the intervention and that “she shouted aggressively to the point of tears and the caring crowd intervened.”
Prior to being appointed chief of staff that year, Kimmel had an on-off relationship with Driesen.
Allegations of sexual harassment in the minister’s office
Two days later, another group of staff met at the health minister’s office for a drink. That night, Evan Bernardo, the minister’s principal adviser, is accused of making a sexually explicit comment to one of Kimmel’s female staff.
“I have never seen you on this floor before because I was observing you with such a body,” Bernardo alleged in a statement. Bernardo has been found to have sexually inappropriately with other women in the building.
The next day, Kimmel reported the incident to the Chief of Health Staff Chris Thresher and Matt Wolf, Principal of Problems Management.
She hadn’t heard anything for about a month.
On Nov. 17, Kenny’s general secretary, Larry Koumeyer, asked her to meet because she was worried people were upset, the lawsuit says.
Kimmel suggested that she told Koumeyer about the aggressive incident with Driesen and the excessive office drinking and sexual abuse by Bernardo.
In his statement, Kaumeyer said that Bernardo was “not going to be fired” and decided to quit his position at the end of the year anyway. She did not indicate that her other concerns would be addressed. Kaumeyer no longer works at headquarters.
The government says it has ‘zero tolerance for harassment’
“Sexual harassment is disgusting and has no place in our workplaces or society,” Principal Chief of Staff Pam Livingston wrote in the news.
“This government has zero tolerance for harassment and takes all allegations of this kind seriously. We are fortunate to have a highly skilled and diverse public service and we are committed to providing a safe and productive workplace for all.”
The government cannot comment on confidential HR issues, Kimmel’s termination is not related to the matters in his lawsuit – and it fully responds to the allegations in court, the statement said.
Kenny’s office has promised political staff to initiate an independent review of HR policies to ensure that processes are clear and staff are informed of procedures. Respectful training is now mandatory for political staff. The statement did not address Drishan’s alleged conduct.
The news also reached individuals named in the statement.
“It is inappropriate for me to comment on the statements in Haim in any way, because I can be called as a witness in any proceedings.
The minister and senior staff looped about bad behavior
In December, Kimmel had lunch with Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Child Services. The document says the minister had said he had heard rumors of sexual abuse and wanted to know what Kimmel knew. He told the minister without revealing the name of the incident.
During the dinner, Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon states that Schulz called him to discuss Bernardo’s alleged behavior. Nixon said he would propose the matter with the head of the Prime Minister’s staff.
“Sexual harassment is absolutely unacceptable and disgusting,” Schulz said in a statement Wednesday to the News. “After hearing the allegations, I met with Ms. Kimmel and discussed the concerns I heard. Then I talked to the House leaders about these concerns. After our discussion, they presented them to the Prime Minister’s Office and made sure the Prime Minister’s Office was dealing with the allegations.”
The next day, Kimmel spoke with Nixon about her concerns that the allegations of harassment were not properly addressed. The lawsuit claims he promised to settle immediately.
“I was contacted about some troubling rumors involving Mr. Bernardo’s behavior,” Nixon told the News in a written statement.
“After hearing this, I phoned a trusted cabinet colleague to ask if they had heard similar rumors. After speaking with Minister Schulz, I immediately contacted the Prime Minister’s then Chief of Staff and Human Resources to inform him of the rumors I had heard.
Bernardo was told his contract was not being renewed.
The news is that Bernardo sent an email to legislative staff on December 13, 2020, announcing that he had resigned his position to return to law practice. Bernardo is now an attorney with Miller Thomson LLP in Calgary.
To Kimmel’s knowledge, no formal sexual harassment investigation has been carried out and no official support has been provided by the headquarters for the affected women.
After Bernardo’s departure, Kimmel spoke with Amber Griffith, chief human resources manager, about what they consider to be insufficient measures to deal with harassment. Kimmel recommended that staff provide a written sexual harassment policy that includes a clear procedure for complaints and investigations, according to the document.
Kimmel said his staff did not have the confidence to provide a safe work environment until the policy was implemented.
The lawsuit suggests that Griffith was offended by this comment, and said: “How do you say that? [Bernardo]. “
‘Mindless, malicious and vicious actions and inaction’
After the December holiday break, Kimmel learned that senior staff were spreading rumors that she was the source of many leaks to the media, according to the document. He claimed that no information was unofficially disclosed.
On January 6, 2021, Kimmel again raised concerns about Driesen’s aggressive behavior in October, and this time continued to “overdose” on Livingston, Kenny’s chief of staff. He claimed that an anonymous social media account had started tweeting details of his relationship with the minister.
The document states that other senior Kenny staff were told the same concerns about Driesen’s intoxication and that no action had been taken.
Three days later, the statement says Kenny met with the general secretary again and expressed concern about the rumors targeting him. Kaumeyer said Kimmel would not be fired.
On Feb. 5, Kimmel was told he was being dismissed, and that Koumeyer was “doing the best you can.”
“We have seen cases or media stories of abuse in political offices over the last two years and political staff have been suffering and often silenced. Kathryn Marshall told the News.
“Politicians should lead by example and this will set a new standard for how political personnel should be treated.”
The lawsuit seeks more than $ 399,000 in damages and the equivalent of her salary until the end of her contract in May 2023.
It lists Kimmel as a “poisonous work environment”, creating and spreading rumors against her, failing to enforce a strong sexual harassment policy, terminating her employment in retaliation, damaging her mental well-being and reputation, and damaging future employment opportunities. .
It concludes that “she suffered significant mental and physical distress due to unintentional, malicious and ill-treatment and inaction.”