NC Democratic Party Chairman refuses to reign amid sexual harassment scandal

The Democratic Party Chairman David Parker has refused repeated requests for his resignation by Governor Bev Purdue and other state party officials amid a sexual harassment scandal.

The original sexual harassment complaint was filed by Adriadn Ortega, who alleged that Executive Director David Parmley subjected him to repeated sexual harassment. Ortega filed a federal lawsuit and is seeking compensation for the harassment and retaliation.

Ortega was reluctant to report the sexual harassment to his supervisors but did so when he was assured that his job was safe.

When a sexual harassment attorney can prove that an employee was fired for reporting incidents of harassment they may be able to recover any lost wages.  

Governor Bev Purdue and two gubernatorial candidates, Lt. Governor Walter Dalton and Representative Bill Faison have all publically called for Parker to resign because of his handling of the sexual harassment allegations.

Parker has requested that the Executive Committee hold an election if other members want to challenge him for the chairman’s post.

In a prepared statement, Gov. Purdue said, “I am reiterating my call for the chairman to of the party to resign. The process laid out by the chairman in his email late today to Executive Committee members is totally unacceptable. The Chairman needs to go.”

Sexual harassment lawyers take allegations of harassment seriously and expect employers to do the same. When one or more people in a workplace refuse to address allegations of harassment or retaliate against the accuser, a sexual harassment attorney can file a lawsuit on behalf of the victim and obtain compensation for their emotional suffering.