A former legislative aide has filed a lawsuit alleging she was mistreated, illegally directed to perform campaign work and harmed by a House leadership structure she says was fragmented, politicized and ineffective at protecting employees.

The lawsuit, filed by Jennifer Chick, names Littleton Democratic Rep. Sheila Lieder, House Speaker Julie McCluskie of Dillon and House Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge as co-defendants.

The lawsuit alleged that Lieder was “emboldened in her misconduct by the
gratuitously complex and simultaneously ineffectual employee management system that Defendants McCluskie and Duran operated during the relevant time periods.”

The time period was from December 2022 to Aug. 13, 2024, when Chick was “forced to resign” following “unbearable, continued retaliation from Representative Lieder.”

McCluskie and Duran declined to comment on the lawsuit at the advice of their attorney. Lieder did not respond to a request for comment. She is running for the Senate District 20 seat in November, currently held by term-limited Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Littleton.

The complaint says Lieder hired Chick as a legislative aide from a pool of suggested candidates, although Chick was “not aligned” with Lieder’s politics. Chick was paid $23 per hour.

The complaint alleges that lawmakers are prohibited from conducting campaign business while carrying out legislative duties or anywhere on Capitol grounds. That applies to their aides, too.

During her time as Lieder’s aide, Chick sought medical leave to deal with posttraumatic stress, a condition exacerbated while working for Lieder, the lawsuit said.

Chick eventually sought inpatient mental-health treatment. She also struggled to access employment benefits — including federally protected medical leave and the short-term disability coverage paid for by House Democrats — according to the lawsuit.

Chick raised concerns to House Democrats about how poorly the human-resources system served legislative employees, and she eventually sought help from the Political Workers Guild. She also brought her concerns to the Office of Legislative Workplace Relations, which the lawsuit says validated them. The lawsuit notes that her criticisms were constitutionally protected speech.

Chick eventually filed a grievance, and after that, the lawsuit said, Lieder began publicly criticizing her performance alongside other lawmakers.

The second allegation concerns Lieder requiring Chick to work on reelection business, a violation of both House rules and state law. That happened during the interim sessions in both 2023 and 2024, the lawsuit said.

Chick claimed she declined to do that campaign work, in part because she was not aligned with Lieder’s political views and because she was concerned she wouldn’t be paid.

“Defendant Lieder effectively duped Ms. Chick into working campaign events for her by telling Ms. Chick that she was required to attend the events as part of her legislative aide job duties,” the lawsuit said.

Lieder also allegedly required Chick to train an intern during legislative hours on using Mailchimp for campaign purposes, the lawsuit said. Lieder later reprimanded Chick for failing to train the intern.

Chick was required to submit a time sheet to House Services, with Lieder’s approval. But she couldn’t submit the hours she worked on Lieder’s campaign because that would violate state law.

Chick resigned in August 2024 after a confrontation with Lieder over a vacation request.

As to the allegations against McCluskie and Duran, the lawsuit said the leaders are responsible for caucus management, including managing employee relations.

It also outlined how bills are passed and the political negotiations that take place, including protecting members whose votes are needed.

As a result, the lawsuit said, the “Speaker and Majority Leader are highly
motivated to treat employee grievances as political fodder, which may mean either disregarding or minimizing grievances filed against representatives whom the Speaker and Majority Leader view as necessary players to their overall political game plan or emphasizing grievances filed against representatives who have not been helpful or useful to the Speaker’s and/or Majority Leader’s and/or the House Democrats’ overall political agenda,” the lawsuit alleged.

That makes human relations in the House “inherently politicized and therefore non-objective.”

The lawsuit claimed McCluskie and Duran created a “fragmented and ineffectual workplace management protocol,” one divided into workplace expectations or workplace harassment and a system in which McCluskie and Duran decide which employee complaints qualify as “expectations.”
and which qualify as “harassment.”

That leads to a system in which legislative aides are afraid to file complaints because the aides lack confidence in the House Democrats’ workplace management and fear retaliation from lawmakers.

Chick filed a grievance, but McCluskie characterized it as a workplace expectation issue rather than harassment, the lawsuit claimed.

The lawsuit said McCluskie later admonished Lieder by letter. Chick’s attorney told Colorado Politics Lieder is now prohibited from seeking assistance in recruiting, interviewing or hiring any new staff.

The lawsuit seeks a trial by jury, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.

Chick’s complaint is not among the three reviewed by the House Workplace Harassment Committee last week, which found that a lawmaker or lawmakers violated House policy on retaliation, gender-based harassment and sexual harassment. Those complaints are confidential.