The jury awards a former Oakland city employee $2.6 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit

The city of Oakland faces a $2.6 million payout after a jury found the city government failed to protect an employee from years of sexual harassment.

An Alameda County Superior Court jury unanimously concluded Monday that Oakland failed to protect plaintiff Patricia Toscano, who worked at the East Oakland Senior Center, and retaliated against her when she came forward, they said the woman’s lawyers.

An East Oakland native, Toscano worked as an administrative assistant at the center for nearly a decade.

After she filed a lawsuit in 2021, she and other employees testified that Frank Knight, a caregiver services supervisor, “created a sexually hostile work environment for years by secretly touching Toscano, attempting to kiss her and spending hours on end.” “He sat at the front of the senior center.” According to a press release from Toscano’s attorneys, he was busy at his desk, where he constantly engaged in sexual “locker room” conversations and leered at Toscano.

Toscano said nothing was done after she complained to the city until an anonymous call to a tip line two years later led to an internal investigation.

That investigation found that Knight, who was ultimately dismissed from the lawsuit, had violated the city’s sexual harassment policy and that the city’s human resources department had failed to comply with city harassment prevention policies, Toscano’s attorney Sharon Vinick said.

In doing so, the city failed to remove Knight from Toscano’s work environment, threaten her with disciplinary action and dismissal and ultimately send her to another senior center, Vinick said.

“It means a lot to me that the jury was unanimous. After not being listened to for so long, I feel somehow freer,” Toscano said. “And I hope that the verdict sends a clear signal to the city that they need to believe the people who come forward instead of ignoring us. Someone needs to look closely at how they run things.”

It is unclear whether disciplinary action has been taken against Knight, who still works for the city, or any of the city managers who failed to protect Toscano.

Prosecutor Barbara Parker is considering whether to appeal the jury’s verdict.

“The City Attorney’s Office is disappointed with the jury’s verdict and the team is currently weighing the city’s options,” Parker said in an emailed statement Wednesday.