Florida Rep. Jackie Toledo filed a lawsuit against her former campaign manager accusing him of sexual harassment on Monday evening.
According to the lawsuit, Toledo's former campaign manager, Fred Piccolo, sent Toledo "unwanted, unsolicited, inappropriate, and grossly offensive sexually harassing text messages and images."
The suit also includes text messages showing Toledo questioning Piccolo's job performance.
The lawsuit also alleged that Piccolo's behavior was an attempt to get himself fired from Toledo's campaign in order to receive a $100,000 termination penalty payment. Toledo is seeking a minimum of $30,000 in damages.
Several of the messages and photos Piccolo sent to Toledo are included in the lawsuit. The full complaint can be viewed in the document below.
Piccolo v Toledo by ABC Action News on Scribd
ABC Action News sat down with Bay area employment lawyer Scott Silverman to get a better understanding of the case.
He says in order to win, Toledo will have to prove four things:
- Intentional or reckless conduct by Piccolo
- The conduct was outrageous
- Piccolo actually caused "emotional distress"
- Emotional distress was "severe"
However, what Silverman said Toledo doesn't necessarily have to prove whether or not she asked Piccolo to stop the inappropriate behavior.
It's a topic that was brought up online after news of the lawsuit dropped.
"Is it possible that the other side could argue that her reaction shows that that standard was not met? Perhaps. But her reaction is not part of the case that has to be met," said Silverman.
We also asked him about accusations about Piccolo's job performance. Silverman said without seeing his work contract, it's hard to give a definitive answer, but it's possible.
"If someone is engaging in conduct that is a conflict of interest with an employer, then that would be potential grounds for discharge," he said.
Toledo has asked for a jury trial in this case, but Silverman said there's a good chance things will be settled before it gets to that point.
"The statistics are that a lot of cases are settled before, before trial. In employment cases, a lot of them get resolved by summary judgment, by the judge," he said.
When asked if he was planning a lawsuit of his own, Piccolo responded that he's hopeful "cooler heads will prevail, and that won't be necessary."
“I believe we will each take a few steps back and agree that we were friends for 10 years, and we both have said and done things we’d like to take back," he said.
Toledo could not be reached for comment.
