CALIFORNIA, USA — A deputy director at California's Office of Emergency Services is facing accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation, which allegedly impacted disaster survivors.
A lawsuit filed by Gomerman, Bourn & Associates also accused Cal OES of failing to fully investigate allegations against the deputy director, Ryan Buras.
“This administration swept a predator’s campaign of sexual and psychological abuse under the rug,” said Kendra Bowyer, the victim in the case and a former Senior Emergency Services Coordinator at Cal OES, in a news release. “A workplace that centers around supporting disaster survivors became a terrifying and nightmarish disaster zone in of itself because they enabled his disgusting behavior.”
According to court records, Bowyer started working at Cal OES in 2018 and by 2019, a Cal OES manager, Steven Larson, reported Buras' sexual harassment after multiple women made complaints in 2019. The lawsuit alleges Cal OES failed to do a full investigation and then retaliated against Larson, causing him to lose his job.
Larson sued Cal OES and Buras, laying out the sexual harassment allegations against Buras and how the employees reporting the harassment were terminated.
According to the complaint, Buras was accused of harassment that included crawling into bed with Bowyer while she was sleeping, touching her non-consensually, trying to get her alone in hotel rooms, grabbing her hand in public, calling and texting her nearly every night and more.
When Bowyer told him the alleged advances were inappropriate, the complaint said Buras made it impossible for Bowyer to contact him while trying to do her job.
“Like many victims of sexual harassment, Kendra was fearful that coming forward would hurt her career,” said Tanya Gomerman, the victim's attorney. “As a result she experienced an extraordinary level of harassment that was sustained over a long period of time. When she finally came forward her worst fears were realized, and the retaliation she experienced made it impossible for her to serve the people of California. Afterwards, Cal OES took actions to keep her claims secret and out of the public’s eye.”
The lawsuit alleges Buras' behavior slowed the ability of Cal OES to deliver relief to disaster victims, including wildfire victims who weren't able to get services that then left their living conditions unsafe. It also alleges Bowyer wasn't able to return to work from medical leave after rejecting Buras' advances.
In response to an inquiry from ABC10, Cal OES provided the following statement below.
"As a matter of policy, we do not comment on personnel matters and active litigation.
I can share with you that as of Noon today we had not formally been served with this lawsuit.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is an affront to our values as an organization. It has no place in Cal OES and it will not be tolerated in any form. Nothing is more important than the safety and welfare of staff and the communities they serve. Put more plainly, every single Cal OES employee and contractor must have a safe and respectful work environment.
For many years, Cal OES has had detailed harassment and misconduct prevention and response programs, policies and practices in place to protect and support survivors of misconduct and to educate staff. The department also mandates annual sexual harassment prevention training for all employees."
WATCH ALSO: California State University campuses mishandled sexual harassment allegations, audit finds
