Justin Rodriguez, an assistant to Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, filed a lawsuit against Deputy County Executive Harold Porr for alleged years-long workplace discrimination.
Mr. Porr was sued in his individual capacity.
Filed on Jan. 19, the federal lawsuit by Mr. Rodriguez alleges that Mr. Porr directed discriminatory comments and gestures toward him over his Jewish ancestry and Puerto Rican ethnic background.
Mr. Rodriguez’s mother is Jewish, and his father is of Puerto Rican descent, according to the lawsuit.
An award-winning sports writer, Mr. Rodriguez was hired as an assistant to Mr. Neuhaus in 2015 and came under the direct supervision of Mr. Porr.
Mr. Porr was county director of operations for years before being tapped as deputy county executive in 2018.
For years, Mr. Porr allegedly made “jokes” about the plaintiff’s Jewish heritage at work, including referring to Hasidic Jews visiting the county office as Mr. Rodriguez’s “cousins.”
Mr. Rodriguez doesn’t practice Judaism, according to the lawsuit.
Last April, Mr. Porr allegedly intensified his discriminatory behaviors, commenting at a work meeting that he would vote for Mr. Rodriguez to be the first “Puerto Rican Jew governor.”
Weeks later, when Mr. Rodriguez was the last person to arrive at a staff meeting, Mr. Porr was allegedly heard asking a few times, “Where is Diego?” to which a county employee said, “You have to watch that.”
“I don’t care,” Mr. Porr allegedly replied to the county employee. “I will lie if Justin says anything. I will say he made Irish slurs about me.”
Mr. Rodriguez said in the lawsuit that Mr. Porr’s discriminatory behavior took a heavy toll on him and that he entered therapy as a result.
Last June, Mr. Rodriguez filed an official complaint as a county employee over the alleged workplace harassment by Mr. Porr.
The county subsequently hired a third-party law firm to investigate the allegations, which concluded that Mr. Porr violated the county’s anti-discrimination policy, according to the lawsuit.
In August 2023, Mr. Porr was removed as Mr. Rodriguez’s direct supervisor.
However, Mr. Rodriguez claimed that even though now he didn’t have to report directly to Mr. Porr, they still worked in the same office, and he still suffered from his discriminatory treatment.
Mr. Rodriguez hired attorney Chris Watkins to represent himself in the lawsuit and demanded relief for monetary and punitive damages.
By law, the county government is obligated to provide Mr. Porr with legal defense and is responsible for any settlement or verdict monetary compensation, despite the fact that Mr. Porr was sued in his individual capacity, according to a statement to The Epoch Times from county attorney Richard Golden.
“I have no comment on the substantive allegations,” Mr. Golden said in the statement.
The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Porr for comment but didn’t receive a reply.
