Ventura County to pay $3 million to settle sexual harassment suit against former CEO
Ventura County will pay $3 million to a former employee who sued her boss, then-county CEO Mike Powers, for alleged sexual and racial harassment and discrimination from 2019 to 2021.
A notice of a conditional settlement of the lawsuit between the county and the plaintiff was filed in Ventura County Superior Court Feb. 24.
But it didn’t contain the terms of the settlement.
Ventura County Counsel Tiffany North on April 2 provided the Business Times and other media with a copy of the fully executed settlement agreement, which does contain the terms.
Under the settlement, the county will pay the plaintiff $3 million in return for her dismissing her lawsuit.
The agreement does not construe an admission by the county of any unlawful acts or other liability, the settlement says.
The former employee, identified only as “Jane Roe,” filed her lawsuit in June 2022, alleging that Powers, then her immediate supervisor, subjected her to sexual and racial harassment and discrimination from 2019 to 2021.
Prior to filing her suit, the woman’s allegations led to Powers’ resignation in March 2022, though he denied her claims.
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