Sacramento County worker says he was fired for medical issues, alleges homophobia
A former Sacramento County employee is suing the Department of Health Services for failing to adhere to his legal rights to medical leave after he was assaulted.
Dean Wolford, who is gay, was assaulted by his ex-boyfriend in June 2023 while he worked for the Department of Health Services, according to the lawsuit. Wolford was discouraged from disclosing his assault, was not informed of his legal rights to support and was stripped of his health insurance, the lawsuit alleged.
Wolford was fired in March 2025, which the lawsuit stated was retaliation for his absences while he was attending therapy and on medical leave.
Gabriella Turnbull, one of the attorneys representing Wolford, alleged Sacramento County did not take his complaints seriously because Wolford is gay and failed to treat him with compassion, support or offer him protection.
“No employee ever should have to fight their employer for basic dignity in the aftermath of violence, let alone the fact that they are disabled or have a specific gender or sexual orientation,” Turnbull said.
Turnbull said Wolford is seeking monetary compensation for emotional distress. The lawsuit is also targeting Sacramento County for disability discrimination, wrongful termination and failure to initiate a disability interactive process.
Sacramento County officials did not provide a response to the lawsuit’s allegations.
Mistreatment from management
According to the lawsuit, Wolford’s administrative director avoided the topic when he first reported the assault. Following the assault, Wolford “attempted to maintain his work schedule,” while experiencing trauma symptoms and showing bruises, according to the lawsuit. Wolford’s ex-boyfriend was arrested and charged criminally in October 2023.
After the arrest, Wolford said he was told by his supervisor not to talk about the assault within the department, the lawsuit said. The administrator said that “people talk” and news about the assault could prevent him from receiving promotions.
Wolford said he was “permitted only a few days off” and was attending to ongoing therapy and medical treatment as the criminal case went on. During that time, Wolford requested time off “sporadically,” which resulted in management at DHS becoming agitated by his absence. The lawsuit stated Wolford was “warned that additional time off could result in discipline.”
“Fearing job loss and unaware of his statutory rights, (Wolford) continued to report to work despite severe psychological distress and lack of support,” the lawsuit stated.
In December 2023, Wolford requested protection through the Family and Medical Leave and California Family Rights Act as management became skeptical and criticized his absences, according to the lawsuit.
When the District Attorney’s Office, which was handling the criminal case, sent a letter stating Wolford was a victim and requested DHS give him time off for pre-trial preparation, court and treatment, management told Wolford his leave wasn’t protected, the suit said. Wolford later went through a psychological crisis and sought inpatient treatment, notifying his supervisors of his leave, the suit said. He proceeded to enter an outpatient program from Jan. 16, 2024 to Feb. 1, 2024.
Despite medical documentation sent to DHS, the lawsuit alleged Sacramento County “repeatedly demanded additional doctor’s notes.” Wolford was also threatened and told his absences would be unapproved because his leave was unprotected. This resulted in Wolford having to seek emergency letters from his medical provider.
Wolford emailed DHS administrators and medical leave specialists with details on his mental condition the following month. He wrote he was a victim of a crime and asked the county to “cease its harassment and honor his protected leave,” according to the lawsuit. None of the email recipients replied, according to the lawsuit. When medical leave administrators and Wolford repeatedly mentioned his leave was protected, management did not respond.
Alleged retaliation for absences
The lawsuit alleged Sacramento County intensified its scrutiny” of his absences and took note of his “below standard” rating on his work performance evaluations. In July 2024, during a phone meeting about Wolford’s absences, the lawsuit alleged, a Department of Personnel Services administrator laughed when Wolford described his experience as a male sexual assault victim, telling him that “everyone needs to return to work at some point.”
After this discussion, Wolford’s insurance benefits were cancelled, resulting in the loss of his therapy, psychiatry appointments and ability to refill his medication. Wolford repeatedly contacted the employee union and management to correct this, the lawsuit stated.
Instead, Wolford was informed his current Family and Medical Leave Act note “did not qualify” for his insurance to be reinstated. When he approached the county about this in September 2024 and “asserted” his labor rights for time off, the county insisted he get a doctor’s note, despite the termination of his health benefits, the lawsuit stated.
Wolford was later terminated in March 2025 due to complaints regarding his absences.
Turnbull added the mistreatment of Wolford was not only sexuality discriminatory, but was against his human rights. She said Sacramento County failed to treat him with dignity, and that his legal protections were neglected or outright denied.
“I think the biggest issue here is just we want to make a point that every person deserves to be treated like a human being, and unfortunately, Mr. Wolford was not,” Turnbull said. “There’s harm in that, but also there should be accountability to employers, where they should be treating all of their employees with dignity.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 3:28 PM.
