A former aide to Carson Councilwoman Arleen Bocatija Rojas alleges that he was wrongly asked to do household chores, including mowing the lawn, and use LAPD monitoring tools for the council member's personal benefit.
In a lawsuit filed by the former Carson city employee against the city in 2024, Justin Battle argues that he was fired because of his complaints about alleged illegal conduct and his refusal to engage in it. Battle also claims in the complaint that Rojas repeatedly asked him to “spy on, record and record” a council member, Jim Dear.
City attorneys responded to the lawsuit in court papers filed last week, arguing that the case should be dismissed because he was fired “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 as Rojas' council assistant in March 2023. His position ended in November of that year.
While working with Rojas, Battle's complaint alleges, she required him “to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week” and to run personal errands. In addition to mowing his lawn, he says he was asked to plan his vacation and pick up his dry cleaning. The lawsuit also says Battle would pick up Rojas' daughter and use LAPD email authorization to “track” her daughter's phone use.
Battle also alleges that Rojas asked him to spy on her by tracking when Dear's girlfriend or wife would leave. Battle says he refused.
The court document states that Battle raised concerns about this “inappropriate and illegal conduct” with Deputy City Manager Robert Lennox on “numerous occasions.” According to the complaint, Lennox allegedly told Battle he would speak to Rojas about this, but the requests did not stop.
While working in this position, city attorneys' court documents say, Battle had a second job at an LAUSD high school, where he worked 30 hours a week. The documents allege that his work hours at school and in the city overlapped.
City attorneys argue in new filings that when the city evaluated his job performance, “he had not met the standards required for the full-time position, given his inflexible scheduling demands, which did not allow him to sufficiently meet the needs of his council member.”
Carson's attorneys also say Battle “fails to establish the essential elements of his whistleblower claim” and that his case lacks actionable issues.
A jury trial is scheduled for June.
City News Service contributed to this report.
