A former assistant to Carson Councilwoman Arleen Bocatija Rojas alleges that he was wrongly required to do household duties, including mowing her lawn, and to use LAPD tracking tools for the council member’s personal benefit.
In a lawsuit filed by the former city of Carson employee against the city in 2024, Justin Battle argues that he was terminated due to his complaints about the alleged illegal conduct and his refusal to engage in it. Battle also states in the complaint that Rojas repeatedly asked him to “spy on and video and record” a fellow council member, Jim Dear.
The city’s attorneys responded to the suit in court documents filed last week, arguing that the case should be dismissed because he was terminated “for legitimate performance reasons and not because of workplace complaints.”
Battle was first hired by the city in 2019 as a recreation assistant. He also worked as an administrative intern before receiving the job of council aide to Rojas in March 2023. His position was terminated by November of that year.
While he worked with Rojas, Battle’s complaint alleges, she required him “to be on call 24/7” and do her personal errands. In addition to mowing her lawn, he says he was asked to plan her vacations and pick up dry cleaning. The lawsuit also says Battle would pick up Rojas’ daughter and use LAPD email authorization to “track” her daughter’s phone usage.
Battle also alleges that Rojas asked him to spy for her by tracking when Dear’s girlfriend or wife would leave. Battle says he refused.
The court document states that Battle raised his concerns about this “improper and illegal conduct” to Assistant City Manager Robert Lennox on “numerous occasions.” According to the complaint, Lennox reportedly told Battle he would speak to Rojas about this, but the requests didn’t stop.
When working this position, the city’s attorneys’ court documents say, Battle had a second job at an LAUSD middle school, where he worked 30 hours a week. The papers allege that his working hours at the school and with the city overlapped.
The city’s attorneys argue in new documents that when the city evaluated his work performance, “he had not met the required standards of the full-time position, given his unflexible scheduling demands, which did not allow him to sufficiently meet the needs of his council-member.”
Carson’s attorneys also say Battle “cannot establish the essential elements of his whistleblower claim” and that his case lacks triable issues.
A jury trial is set for June.
City News Service contributed to this report.
