Employees allege that Los Angeles City Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto read their emails without their knowledge and created an atmosphere of fear in the workplace.

Sean C. Tyler said in documents recently filed with the city that he saw Feldstein Soto order his superiors to look at the emails of Michelle McGinnis, who was the department's chief of detectives at the time. Tyler, the administrative coordinator, believes Feldstein Soto also looked at his own email account.

Ms. Tyler and Ms. McGinnis have criticized Feldstein Soto and its team in recent months, both at work and in a separate damages claim. In April, Ms. McGinnis was placed on administrative leave and escorted out of her office in front of colleagues.

Tyler's allegations, laid out in a six-page document filed July 26, are among the latest against Feldstein Soto. Since January, he and three coworkers have alleged in separate complaints that they were retaliated against by their superiors or Feldstein Soto herself after reporting problems in the office. Two of the coworkers also said they believe their work emails were monitored without their knowledge by Feldstein Soto or others.

In a July 26 filing, Tyler described a tense atmosphere within the City Attorney's Office and said Feldstein Soto was using “intimidation tactics” to thwart dissent.

Tyler said Feldstein Soto was escorted by armed LAPD officers as she conducted business at City Hall East, describing it as a “clear attempt to intimidate employees.”

Tyler warned that Feldstein Soto may be searching the emails of employees in other city offices and departments.

Feldstein Soto also has concerns about being spied on, and her office is regularly searched for listening devices, Tyler alleges in the complaint.

“There's an atmosphere of fear,” Tyler, 44, who was hired in 2018 and works in the office's technology and library services department, said in an interview. “People are scared. They don't know what's going on. It's very unstable.”

Feldstein Soto spokeswoman Karen Richardson said there is “no truth to the flamboyant allegations” made in Tyler's complaint.

“Employee allegations and complaints have occurred frequently and for decades within the normal course of business of the City Attorney's Office,” she said in a statement.

Richardson said his boss was committed to “researching, examining and improving the governance of the office.”

“Change is always hard,” Richardson said in a statement, “and it often faces resistance from within those who have benefited from the previous status quo.”

Asked about her own security, Feldstein Soto, through another aide, said every city attorney since Rocky Delgadillo, who served from 2001 to 2009, has had “high-level security.”

It's unclear whether a city department head's search of work emails violates employees' rights, especially if the search is part of a personnel investigation. Moreover, emails sent to or from government employees are considered public records, with some exceptions.

But the growing number of employee complaints could have political implications for Feldstein Soto, who faces election in 2022 and has already begun her campaign. Fundraising For Her Re-election campaign.

At City Hall, Claims for damages It is a first step that is frequently required before filing a lawsuit.

In the original lawsuit, filed in April, Tyler claims he was retaliated against after complaining about racial discrimination and other issues, and seeks $10 million in damages.

Tyler expanded on this allegation in his July 26 filing, alleging that Feldstein Soto used a computer program called “Relativity” to read employee emails “without disturbing their email inboxes.” He said these email searches were “verifiable by multiple employees and supported by financial documents.”

Tyler also alleged that the office relied on a “wiretap detector” it described as a K18+ model to prevent the secret recording of Feldstein Soto's conversations.

So far, the wave of complaints of retaliation appears to have come only from officers in the criminal division, which prosecutes minor offenses such as vandalism, drunk driving and theft. Feldstein Soto's firm, which employs hundreds of lawyers, is also drafting the bill and defending the city against lawsuits.

McGinnis, who was selected by Feldstein Soto to become chief of detectives in May 2023, filed a 20-page complaint in June alleging he was subjected to a “barrage of retaliatory actions” after reporting suspected legal and ethical violations within the department.

McGinnis alleged that Feldstein Soto made decisions about who to prosecute based on “personal relationships” and “perceived political interest.” He also alleged that the firm tolerated grant mishandling, discriminatory practices and “inappropriate drinking” in the workplace.

Feldstein Soto, through an aide, has denied the allegations. In recent weeks, her office has Miller Barondes LLP To assist in the “Michelle McGinnis investigation.”

In a July 17 memo, Assistant City Attorney Vivian Swanigan told some employees that their participation in the investigation was mandatory and that they could be fired if they did not cooperate or give “truthful answers.”

Tyler filed an updated complaint a week later, saying Miller Barondes LLP could not be trusted to conduct an independent investigation because of its pre-existing ties to Feldstein Soto. Miller Barondes LLP represented Feldstein Soto when he was a private citizen in 2013, and at least three of the firm's lawyers have donated to his 2022 campaign, Tyler said.

“The firm's attorney contributions and past contract with the city attorney going back more than a decade had no influence on the selection of Miller Barondes as investigator,” Feldstein Soto's assistant attorney Richardson said in a statement.

The City Council Budget Committee I'll meet you on Wednesday Behind Closed Doors Request from Feldstein Soto Miller Barondes to remain employed pending unspecified legal matters. The three-year contract could cost up to $500,000.

Tyler isn't the only employee to have raised the issue of email intrusions: In June, San Fernando Valley District Attorney and Deputy City Attorney Norman Wegener filed a lawsuit alleging he too was retaliated against at work and had his emails read without his knowledge.

Wegener's lawyer, Elizabeth Silber Tujman, said one or more of Wegener's managers had reviewed his emails to determine “who he was communicating with and what he was communicating.”

Silver Toudjman said her client is seeking a forensic audit to determine the scale and scope of the intrusion.

In their arguments, Wegener and Tyler offered no evidence to show why they believed their emails had been read.

Employment law experts said supervisors can often legally search employees' work emails in response to a lawsuit or as part of an internal investigation.

“Whether you're a city attorney or any corporation, you have to review your staff's emails for litigation or other legal proceedings, especially if they're required to produce emails in discovery,” said Todd Friedman, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in employment and consumer protection law.

Friedman said Soto's legal position could be more precarious if Feldstein Soto had viewed emails employees sent to family members about health conditions or other sensitive matters, which he said could violate employees' privacy rights.

Tyler, who is Latino, also alleged in his July lawsuit that Feldstein Soto discriminated against him by using race as a factor in his hiring and promotion, and that she improperly pressured the LAPD to take action against protesters who are among her most vocal critics.

Mr Tyler also said the work was taking a serious toll on his health, causing severe headaches, insomnia, high blood pressure and long-term anxiety. He is now on medical leave.