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Fiona Ma, California State Treasurer, has frequently shared hotel rooms with her chief of staff during her tenure as the top official California bank, with the intention of “saving money” , according to their expense reports.
An investigation by the Sacramento Bee newspaper of his travel documents found that sharing accommodation with staff was a common practice for Ma, who faces a lawsuit filed by an employee who no longer works in the office.
The worker accused her of sexual harassment when the two women shared hotel rooms .
Ma has described the accusations in the lawsuit as “unfounded.”
In the filing, Judith Blackwell, former chair of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, said Ma had been exposed and had crawled into bed with her when the two of them shared a hotel room and another rental property.
In the complaint, Blackwell says Ma encouraged her to share rooms with her in Sacramento instead of driving back to her Bay Area home after work.
“During the time that Ms. Ma shared a room with the plaintiff (Blackwell), she exposed her bare butt directly to the plaintiff on multiple occasions,” he noted in the lawsuit.
“Ma’s actions were intentional and not accidental, and were done to get the attention of the plaintiff, who was uncomfortable and afraid comment on Ms. Ma’s lewd behavior. ”
Ma said that she has repeatedly refused to come to terms with Blackwell and who hopes to “bring the truth to light in court.”
The regi Stros obtained by The Sacramento Bee show that Ma has a long practice of sharing accommodation on business trips with another assistant, Chief of Staff Genevieve Jopanda, usually for hotel rooms in Sacramento while living in the Bay Area.
Records show that Ma and Jopanda shared hotel rooms in at least 13 of his travels to Sacramento during Ma’s first two years in office.
In a trip, Ma rented a three-bedroom property in Citrus Heights, where he stayed with four unidentified helpers, according to the trip expense report.
The California Human Resources manual for state employees does not have a policy on whether managers They must share hotel rooms with their subordinates.
Laura Kray, professor at UC Berk’s Haas School of Business eley, The Sacramento Bee said, that Ma’s habit of sharing hotel rooms with subordinates “doesn’t seem like a smart practice.”
“ It crosses borders and puts subordinates in a very difficult position to say no, even in the most innocent cases where we are just trying to save money, ”Kray said.
“Due to power dynamics, I don’t think people feel free to say no and worry about retaliation. ”
In a statement, Ma touted her record as a good manager of the taxpayers’ money, a reputation she has cultivated in her years as an elected official.
“I am a dedicated public servant who takes herself very seriously my responsibilities and the stewardship of California dollars and resources, and this will always be my top priority, ”Ma wrote in his statement.
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