Former BOE staffer initiates legal action over alleged harassment by agency head

After finding that the head of the city’s Board of Elections had subjected two staffers to a hostile work environment, the city Department of Investigation released a report this week recommending that the BOE head resign or be removed from office. 

That didn’t happen. Instead, BOE Executive Director Michael Ryan was put on a three-week suspension without pay and given a one-year probation and mandated sensitivity training. But he could soon face a lawsuit alleging harassment and unwelcome comments in violation of human rights law.

In a filing in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, one of those staffers – Stephanie Jaquez, the now former associate general counsel at the agency – is described as “enduring a hostile work environment caused by months of harassment and unwelcome comments” by Ryan that preceded her resignation in July 2024. In preparation for a civil action seeking damages, Jaquez filed a Notice of Claim with the court that stated that she was subjected to “Ryan’s unwelcome conduct that caused her to be treated differently based on her gender, race, and ethnicity, and caused her other harms such as emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, lost reputation and income, among others.”

The agency and its commissioners are also named in the filing; the DOI report additionally cited problems in the BOE’s “ability to effectively prevent and address workplace misconduct and harassment.”

The City first reported that the government watchdog found that Ryan made unwelcome and offensive comments to the two staffers. A shorter version of the DOI report released publicly confirmed that the behavior included comments that were “sexually suggestive, about a sexualized topic” or about Jaquez’s appearance, who was identified in the DOI report at “Complainant 1.” “Some of the comments also centered around Complainant 1’s ethnicity and involved offensive stories and stereotypes about individuals of the same or similar heritage,” the report added. 

Jaquez told Gothamist earlier this week that she planned to sue. Her filing on Thursday takes the first step towards that. A petition filed Thursday requests that the court allow Jaquez to file a lawsuit even though she failed to file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the alleged harassment occurring, arguing that she has satisfied a reasonable excuse by filing the complaint to BOE leadership and the Department of Investigation.  The filing also says that Jaquez was under the impression that she couldn’t speak publicly while a “confidential” DOI investigation was ongoing.

“We expect to file a lawsuit as soon as we receive the court’s permission to proceed,” Jaquez’s lawyer Annie Seifullah told City & State. 

“We will review the case and respond in the litigation,” New York City Law Department spokesperson Nick Paolucci said. Representatives for the BOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

In a statement following the release of the DOI report earlier this week, Ryan said that he disputed the allegations. “I want to express my deepest apologies to my family, my colleagues and to anyone that I unintentionally offended,” he said in the statement. “While I dispute these allegations and disagree with the report’s conclusion, I accept the determination of the Commissioners in the best interests of the agency.”