Ryan Thompson reports for Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Marty Markowitz deposition.

BOROUGH HALL — Borough President Marty Markowitz’s former speechwriter is suing him for discrimination. And though the lawsuit was filed over two years ago, depositions are finally underway — with Markowtz being deposed on Friday.

In the lawsuit filed in Kings County Supreme Court in December 2007, the then-50-year-old woman claims that the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President subjected her to age- and gender-related discrimination, and forced her to resign from her position as Markowitz’s communication director.

The plaintiff, Regina Weiss, alleges in her complaint that the borough president’s then-chief of staff Gregory Atkins “engaged in discriminatory actions to undermine Plaintiff’s ability to perform the essential functions of her position while simultaneously creating a pervasively hostile work environment for Plaintiff as a result of her gender and age.”

She is suing for lost wages, future earnings, pain and suffering, and mental and emotional stress. The lawsuit alleges Atkins “commenced a campaign of disparate treatment” against Weiss immediately upon her return to the office.

At the time of the filing of the lawsuit, Markowitz’s office said that the “unfounded claims should be taken in context — they are from a disgruntled former employee who was dismissed.”

“We are confident that we will prevail in this case. The Brooklyn Borough President has always, and will continue, to employ a diverse group of talented staff in his office,” said Diana Goell Voigt, senior counsel at the New York City Law Department, which is representing Markowitz’s office.

Weiss, who previously worked as Markowitz’s speechwriter, had resigned from that job in 2003, working elsewhere for 18 months. She returned to work for the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President as communications director in January 2005, after Markowitz’s consistent and repeated appeals for her to return to work for him, according to the complaint.

The complaint does not make any claims that Markowitz himself engaged in any discriminatory conduct. In fact, according to Weiss’ claims, Markowitz was thrilled to have her return to work and was confident in her abilities.

However, Weiss claims that “Atkins’ actions, statements and omissions all served to intentionally undermine Defendant Markowitz’s confidence in Plaintiff’s abilities, with the goal of having Plaintiff fired.”

Markowitz is individually named as a defendant in this lawsuit, along with the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. Atkins is not individually named, though the complaint is based almost entirely on the alleged discrimination by him. According to Weiss, Atkins favored younger male employees, both in the workplace and as potential candidates for employment.

On January 31, 2006, one year after Weiss was hired, Atkins told Weiss that she was being asked to resign, because the agency was “changing direction over the next four years” and they wanted someone in her position “who can test the political waters,” according to the complaint.

Furthermore, Atkins allegedly refused to discuss Weiss’ concerns regarding the possible misuse of the office for political purposes during Markowitz’s re-election campaign. This was done in order to undermine Weiss, according to the complaint, though it does not elaborate on this claim.

The complaint also makes mention of some possible “inappropriate sexual activity” regarding Atkins and three other employees, though again, does not elaborate, nor does it allege that any such activity involved or affected Weiss.

Did you hear the one about W vetoing the bipartisan supported child health care bill that would have provided an expansion of the federally funded, state-run health insurance program for poor children to cover an additional 10 million children? No? It didn’t get much air play. The cost of funding four months of kid-killing in Iraq for oil and lies is about the same as five years of funding to cover the additional 10 million kids, many of whom will surely suffer and die as a result of this mendaciously mean-spirited, unconscionable, twisted, and obscene corporation currently running this country

And we’re all too sheepish, ignorant and distracted by our online shopping sprees to give a rat’s ass, frankly. The real enemy is not the sick empty suits and phony Christians in the White House, the real villain is the corporate media—those feeble and soft souls bought and paid for by the same over-lording paymasters that own our television, radio and print media as well as our corporate military, medical/pharmaceutical/insurance complex and corporate executive branch. That’s why this outrageous story could only be found buried on page 37 of the NY Times last week, and was nowhere to be found in the tabloid fare and television infotainment waste products that most of us consume for our dose of phony hard “news.” Please help me out–I’m testing this video as new form of instant emetic—to be used in event of a drug overdose—play this video and vomit. Let me know if it works.

Tuesday, December 4th 2007, 4:00 AM

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz improperly ordered staffers to work on his 2005 reelection campaign and turned a blind eye to office sexual shenanigans, his former communications chief charged Monday.

Regina Weiss claims in a discrimination lawsuit that she was tormented by Markowitz’s chief of staff for more than a year before she was booted from the $83,000-a-year job in February 2006.

Weiss, 50, says in the suit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court that she was forced out to make room for younger men.

Soon after she took the job of communications director in January 2005, Weiss said, she and her staff were put to work on Markowitz’s reelection.

The press office drilled Markowitz before debates, studied polls and reviewed campaign material in what would be a violation of city conflict-of-interest laws, said her lawyer Jack Tuckner.

“It was a fairly significant distraction,” said Tuckner, of the Manhattan firm Tuckner, Sipser.

The suit also charges that Greg Atkins, the borough president’s chief of staff, engaged in “inappropriate sexual activity” in the office with three other staffers.

The staffers were not named and Tuckner did not elaborate.

Laura Sinagra, a spokeswoman for Markowitz, said the office had not seen the complaint.

“This office denies the allegations communicated to it by the Daily News, and will duly defend against them if served,” Sinagra said.

Tuckner said Markowitz often praised Weiss, and most of her difficulty was with Atkins.

Atkins “refused to discuss her concerns that the office was being misused for political purposes,” the suit claims.

In a lawsuit filed today in State Supreme Court, Kings County, a former employee of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz claims she was systematically undermined and illegally removed from her job after enduring more than a year of discriminatory treatment based on her age and gender. The lawsuit outlines a pattern of disparate treatment of the plaintiff and other female employees, as well as evidence of blatant discrimination against older job applicants. The complaint filed with the court also indicates that Markowitz misused his City office for political purposes during a year when he was running for reelection, and that he neglected issues that were crucial to his constituents.

The plaintiff, Markowitz’s former communications director Regina Weiss, alleges multiple violations of New York City’s Human Rights Law, which prohibits employment discrimination based on age or gender. Ms. Weiss alleges that she was deliberately subjected to untenable working conditions that were a vast departure from those applied to the young male directors who preceded and followed her in the position, undermining her ability to fulfill essential job functions, and resulting in her unlawful termination.

Before being removed from her position at Brooklyn Borough Hall in 2006, Ms. Weiss, who is 50, had a long record of professional accomplishment, including jobs with both Markowitz and his predecessor in office, Howard Golden, as well as with Planned Parenthood Federation and the New York State Nurses Association. She holds a graduate degree in social policy.

“In more than 30 years of work, I have never been held in anything but the highest regard by my employers or my colleagues,” said Ms. Weiss. “My career and my self confidence have been hugely damaged by the discriminatory and disparaging treatment I endured at Brooklyn Borough Hall. I cannot let that stand.”

“This lawsuit arises from a classic case of age and gender discrimination in the workplace, where a highly accomplished woman is subjected to numerous instances of discriminatory conduct that ultimately resulted in her illegal termination. We look forward to presenting this case to a jury,” said attorney William Sipser.

Copies of the complaint filed with the court may be obtained from the plaintiff’s attorneys:
Jack Tuckner – 917.922.8408; jtuckner@womensrightsny.com
William Sipser – 917.658.3260; wsipser@womensrightsny.com