Former Cal OES leader harassed, retaliated against subordinates, a third lawsuit alleges
A third former employee Tuesday sued the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, claiming a former deputy director retaliated against his subordinate after he was accused of misspending state dollars.
The complaint alleges that former Deputy Director Ryan Buras acted with impunity while sexually harassing employees and creating a hostile work environment.
Rebecca Weber, a former OES Recovery Infrastructure Branch Analyst who filed the complaint in the Sacramento Superior Court, said Buras’ retaliation ultimately caused her to resign from OES. In addition to damages, Weber is asking the court to investigate Buras and mandate sexual harassment training at the office.
Weber’s complaint details a similar pattern of retaliation outlined in another lawsuit filed against Buras in January. She claims Buras revoked her telework status after she told him that OES could not legally provide disaster assistance funds for a 2020 fire in Los Angeles County.
Weber’s complaint is the third lawsuit against OES and Buras in several years alleging the former deputy director harassed employees.
“We would have not continued to file these lawsuits had Cal OES taken some action and some accountability,” said Weber’s attorney Maria Bourn. “Instead, they’ve really taken the opposite direction and decided that they aren’t going to address these issues.”
OES spokesperson Amy Palmer said the office does not comment on personnel matters and pending litigation.
“We strive to maintain a workplace free from sexual harassment and retaliation, and we are committed to ensuring all employees feel safe and respected in the workplace.,” Palmer said.
Buras, a Democrat appointed to his position in 2019, left the job earlier this year. According to Buras’ LinkedIn, he formerly worked as a director with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides federal disaster aid and assistance.
In Weber’s complaint, she said Buras was initially friendly and complimentary toward her when he thought she was single, according to legal filings. At one point she alleges he said, “I love single moms,” after he learned she had children.
Weber claims that Buras’ behavior changed dramatically when he discovered that she was married.
Buras made it difficult for Bowers to perform her job by not inviting her to meetings and leaving her off email chains where she should have been included, her complaint says. When Weber was not aware of a meeting or email, Buras would accuse her of being incompetent, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint states that Buras misused funds to help pay for a 2020 fire that was ineligible for financial help from OES. The Lake Fire burned over 30,000 acres in Los Angeles County and destroyed a handful of structures, but did not qualify for state funds given the governor did not issue a state of emergency and neighboring authorities didn’t need to provide mutual aid.
Weber informed Buras that the office could not approve state funds for Lake Fire cleanup, the complaint said. Despite others at OES agreeing with Weber that the office could not release funds given the incident’s scope, Buras had the money issued to Los Angeles County.
As a result of Weber’s insistence that OES follow regulation around disaster funding, Buras began retaliating against Weber. He required her to work from the office multiple days a week in 2023, according to Weber’s complaint.
Years earlier, Weber was granted a fully remote position after she moved from Sacramento to southern California in 2015 to be closer to medical facilities that provide care for her long-term partner, who suffers from a chronic, life-threatening medical condition.
Weber requested an exemption but she was denied the accommodation, the complaint said. She would be required to come into the office or take time off to care for her partner.
“I endured constant harassment and retaliation, all while trying to fulfill my duties as caretaker for my partner who was battling a life-threatening illness,” Weber said in a statement. “While I worked to support disaster survivors, Ryan Buras created a disastrous, hostile work environment.”
The pattern of harassment and retaliation outlined in the complaint closely resembles that of another lawsuit filed on behalf of Kendra Bowyer, another former disaster office employee. Bowyer claimed Buras made repeated sexual comments toward her. She said Buras created a retaliatory environment when she rejected his advances, which forced her to resign.
Last month, Bourn, who represents both Weber and Bowyer, said she filed a motion to compel the state to produce requested documents in Bowyer’s case, including the investigation OES conducted into Buras’ behavior while he was in the office.
Buras could not be reached for comment by deadline.
Weber resigned from her position with OES in February.
Weber is suing for unspecified damages. Like Bowyer’s complaint, Weber’s also demands that OES be required to provide in-person sexual harassment training, to conduct a full investigation of Buras’ alleged conduct toward female employees and for all employees who failed to take action to be removed from their position.
This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 1:05 PM.
