A Montebello city official has filed a lawsuit alleging she was placed on an “indefinite administrative leave” in June because of her supervisor’s biases against women and her complaints about a councilman’s hostile behavior.

Assistant City Manager Arlene Salazar qualified as a whistleblower at the time and had protection against retaliation under state law, according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 30.

“Now, however, the city has set out to harm plaintiff’s career because she stood up to abuse of power, pushed back on proposals that would have constituted a gross waste of public funds, opposed gender discrimination and race discrimination against City employees, and is female herself,” wrote her attorney, Diana Wang Wells, in the lawsuit.

The suit alleges Salazar was one of 17 employees who spoke to investigators looking into complaints accusing Councilman David Torres of creating a toxic work environment in late 2021. Salazar reported Torres regularly circumvented the chain of command by requesting information, or giving direction, to city employees instead of going through then-City Manager Rene Bobadilla as required by the city’s Municipal Code, according to the lawsuit.

Torres has repeatedly denied the allegations and questioned the legitimacy of the investigation, saying it was not impartial and that he was not properly allowed to defend himself.

The lawsuit alleges the harassment escalated after Salazar participated in the probe.

“After May of 2022, Torres repeatedly engaged in conduct that materially impacted the terms and conditions of Plaintiff’s employment, including but not limited to, berating and humiliating her on multiple occasions,” Wells wrote in the lawsuit.

Salazar and seven other employees, including Bobadilla and Public Affairs Director Michael Chee, later filed government claims in September 2022 accusing Torres of “engaging in harassing, hostile and retaliatory behavior.” All eight of the original damage claims expired this September.

Salazar and Chee, who was effectively fired during a public meeting in June 2023, have filed separate, but related, lawsuits based on new claims alleging they suffered retaliation. Chee sued in January and is represented by the same law firm as Salazar.

Bobadilla, the former city manager, quietly resigned in May 2023 following months of medical leave. The city has denied that any separation or severance agreement exists in relation to Bobadilla’s exit. Public pay databases show that Bobadilla received $461,641 for the five months he worked that year, including $262,279 in “other pay.”

Councilman Torres declined to comment on Salazar’s lawsuit because it is pending litigation. On Instagram, he posted an image in September announcing the expiration of the claims, which are typically precursors to lawsuits.

“OMG did you hear,” the text in the image reads. “17 witnesses, 8 harassment claims, 0 lawsuits.”

In a statement, Torres offered his appreciation to the supporters who stuck with him in the years since original claims were filed.

“I’d like to thank all those community members who took the time to understand the claims, believed my actions as a representative of the city were protected and appropriate, and stood with me through the most difficult period of my life,” he said in a statement.

Salazar’s lawsuit alleges others in the city participated in the harassment. After City Manager Raul Alvarez was hired last year, Salazar was sidelined “in a manner that was publicly humiliating and made it difficult for her to perform critical job responsibilities.” She was excluded from meetings with individual council members and with department heads, whose performance she is responsible for evaluating annually, the lawsuit said.

Salazar later raised concerns about the firing of the city’s director and assistant director of transportation, who are both black women, in March, according to the lawsuit. She alleges Alvarez “took actions to marginalize and oust multiple women holding executive management positions in the city.”

Salazar was put on leave in June “while she was in a Zoom meeting with local officials from multiple other municipalities and Los Angeles County Metro,” the lawsuit states.

“The timing of her placement on administrative leave was carefully orchestrated to further humiliate her and damage her reputation outside the city,” Wells wrote.

Alvarez and City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman could not be reached for comment.