Filner's Lawyer: San Diego Liable for Sex Harassment

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has been accused of putting female staffers in headlocks, patting their butts, and requesting that they work sans undies, among other things, and yet according to his lawyer, it's all San Diego's fault. "If there is any liability at all, the City will almost certainly be liable," the lawyer wrote in a letter this week to the San Diego city attorney. That's because it has an obligation to offer sexual harassment training to its management-level employees, and it failed to do so in Filner's case, Politico reports.

"Many—if not most—people do not know what is and what is not illegal sexual harassment under California law," the letter continues, concluding that San Diego could be responsible for "failing to prevent harassment. ... Had the City provided mandatory sexual harassment training to Mayor Filner, Ms. McCormack Jackson may never have brought her lawsuit."