A former employee of the Connecticut General Assembly has filed a lawsuit against the CGA House Republican Office alleging gender and disability-based discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment during her tenure.

The civil lawsuit alleges that as early as June of 2021, former press secretary Alicia Mucha was subject to discrimination, harassment and retaliation perpetrated by the office through her supervisor Greg MacKinnon and House Republican Chief of Staff Jen Skehan, which ultimately led to Mucha’s constructive discharge in July of 2022.

“The discriminatory and harassing conduct was embarked upon by plaintiff’s supervisors and was conducted in an open, hostile manner which was fully recognized, tolerated, acknowledged, condoned, approved, ratified and, in effect, encouraged by defendant (the House Republican Office), through its agents, servants and employees, in such a way as to create a hostile work environment towards female employees,” the complaint says.

A representative of the Office of the Attorney General confirmed Tuesday that the AG’s office is handling the case but said the office could not comment on the pending litigation.

A request for comment sent to MacKinnon, Skehan and House Republican Office Legal Counsel James Rocco went unanswered. Both longtime employees, Skehan became chief of staff of the House Republican Office in 2006 and MacKinnon joined in 2014.

According to the claim, on June 10, 2021, MacKinnon allegedly aggressively approached Mucha yelling, “I’m your f—— boss,” and “Come at me!” before a female employee stepped in front of MacKinnon to block him.

The lawsuit claims that at the time of the incident, MacKinnon was Mucha’s direct supervisor and had an alleged “history of aggressive, physically, violent behavior and verbally aggressive, hostile and sexually inappropriate behavior.”

“Greg McKinnon (sic) verbally and aggressively attacked the plaintiff while on the job in front of co-workers, legislators, and other staff members. He used profanity towards plaintiff, shouted and yelled at plaintiff in an effort to intimidate and humiliate,” the complaint read.

After the incident, the lawsuit alleges, Skehan took several actions to protect MacKinnon, including omitting information from an investigative report on the incident and insisting that MacKinnon continue as Mucha’s direct supervisor.

“She threatened the plaintiff’s job, accused the plaintiff of not being innocent in the matter and otherwise engaged in classic victim-blaming behavior. She admitted to being inconvenienced by the matter and wanted the plaintiff to move on,” the complaint claims, describing a meeting between Skehan, MacKinnon and Mucha days after the initial incident.

The lawsuit alleges that months later, when Mucha informed Skehan that the presence of MacKinnon triggered a “negative physical reaction” due to Mucha’s “mental health conditions, including post traumatic stress disorder,” Skehan minimized Mucha’s concerns.

“Ms. Skehan dismissed plaintiff’s complaints and treated plaintiff’s disability with contempt,” the complaint read. “Further, on or about February 9, 2022, Ms. Skehan attempted to shame and bully (the) plaintiff,” the complaint claims.

In the lawsuit, Mucha recalled various interactions with Skehan, claiming that Skehan, “was visibly angered with me when I told her I was not comfortable having Greg McKinnon as my direct supervisor. She abruptly ended the meeting and wanted me out of her office. Since then, Ms. Skehan has continued to target me and engaged in an effort to find shortcomings in my work. She has reached out to state legislators with whom I work to find out how I am performing. She does not do this with other employees. Many co-workers have gone years without a performance review.”

The lawsuit said Mucha eventually sought leave from her position under the Family Medical Leave Act as a result of “worsening health issues caused by stress on the job” after human resources allegedly “told the plaintiff that her concerns did not reach the seriousness to take action and that HR could do nothing.”

On July 6, 2022, Mucha ended her employment with the House Republican Office after “no assurances were made that plaintiff would be free from retaliation and work hostility nor were actions taken to provide a safe, non-toxic, work environment,” according to the complaint.

Mucha was first hired by the House Republican Office as a communications specialist in 2014 before assuming the role of press secretary in 2021. During that year, the lawsuit claims that Mucha was the only woman employed by the office’s Communications Department.

As a result of the alleged treatment, the lawsuit said that Mucha suffered a loss of past and future earnings and employee benefits as well as “emotional and psychological pain and suffering, mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment and low self-esteem.”

The lawsuit attests that Mucha filed the civil complaint in late March after exhausting “all administrative remedies” when a complaint filed with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received a Release of Jurisdiction, dismissing the case in December of 2022.

Mucha, represented by the Hartford-based injury and employment law firm Cicchiello & Cicchiello, LLP, is demanding damages, costs, attorney’s fees, and further relief of an amount in excess of $15,000.