BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A federal judge has ordered $45,000 be paid to a Bakersfield woman who alleged retaliation on the part of a property manager after she rebuffed sexual advances from his son.
Additionally, the son, Javier Salazar Jr. — a maintenance worker who allegedly made repeated, unwanted sexual advances between December 2018 and March 2019 — is barred for a decade from performing property management or maintenance services at residential rental properties, according to the order issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston.
The lawsuit was filed last year against Javier Salazar Jr. and Javier Salazar Sr., both of Bakersfield, and Ricardo Covarrubias of Van Nuys, for violating the Fair Housing Act, prosecutors said. They’re responsible for paying the plaintiff within 30 days of the order.
Covarrubias, the property owner, was named as a defendant because he was “vicariously liable” for the Salazars’ conduct, prosecutors said.
Thurston ordered Covarrubias to “adopt a written policy against sexual harassment, including a formal complaint procedure, for all rental properties he owns,” and make certain all agents working on his rental properties are familiar with Fair Housing Act requirements.