Attorney Todd Friedman Quoted in L.A. Times

Los Angeles #employmentlaw and #consumerprotection #attorney Todd Friedman was quoted in the Los Angeles Times article about the L.A. City Attorney “creating a climate of fear.”

The Los Angeles city attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, has been accused of creating a climate of fear within her office by searching through employee emails. According to a staffer who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity, Feldstein Soto has been using her IT department to search emails for specific keywords, which has left employees feeling intimidated and fearful. This staffer also alleged that Feldstein Soto has been obsessed with the idea that someone in her office might be recording her, leading her to sweep her office for recording devices.

“If you’re a city attorney, or any company, you have to go through the emails of your staff for the purposes of a lawsuit or another legal proceeding, especially if those emails are requested in discovery,” said Los Angeles attorney Todd Friedman, who specializes in employment and consumer protection law.

Feldstein Soto could be on shakier legal ground, Friedman said, if she is perusing emails sent by employees to family members about medical conditions or other confidential matters. That could violate the employees’ right to privacy, he said.

L.A. Times

In addition to the email searches, Feldstein Soto has also been accused of improperly pressing the Los Angeles Police Department to bring charges against a political opponent and using a donor’s law firm to conduct an internal investigation into her employees. These actions have reportedly caused a significant amount of fear and anxiety among the staff in her office. However, Feldstein Soto has denied these allegations, stating that her office is a “professional and ethical environment.”

Read the full article here: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-12/l-a-city-attorney-is-searching-through-employee-emails-creating-a-climate-of-fear-staffer-alleges