Mortada v. Metropolitan Water District: "Camel Jockey" Slur, Threats and Retaliation Against the Chief of Staff

What the complaint alleges

MWD appointed Adel Hagekhalil as general manager in June 2021. The complaint alleges that he was the first Arab and Muslim American to hold that office, and that part of his mandate was to fix a workplace culture that the California State Auditor had criticized in an April 2022 report. Mr. Hagekhalil recruited Mr. Mortada. MWD appointed Mr. Mortada chief of staff on October 2, 2023.

The complaint alleges that MWD directors then targeted both men because of their race, national origin and religion:

• February 14, 2023, board retreat. Director Dennstedt asked, about Mr. Mortada and Mr. Hagekhalil, "when can we hire someone we can pronounce their names?"
• December 5, 2023, at MWD's Gene Camp facility. Director Morris called Mr. Mortada and Mr. Hagekhalil "camel jockeys." The complaint alleges that Mr. Mortada and another director heard it, and that MWD investigated and substantiated the slur.
• May 14, 2024, at an Arab American Heritage Month event that Mr. Mortada helped organize. Director Dennstedt asked, "why are we celebrating refugees."
• June 26, 2024, at MWD headquarters. Less than two weeks after the board put Mr. Hagekhalil on leave, Director Dennstedt said to a colleague, with Mr. Mortada standing behind her, "I'm going to get these refugees fired."

The complaint also alleges that, in an inquiry into his hiring, an investigator asked Mr. Mortada, a Muslim, whether he and Mr. Hagekhalil "attend the same church." It alleges that the inquiry found no wrongdoing.

The leaked complaint and the retaliation

The complaint alleges that in May 2024 a senior district official submitted a confidential internal complaint that included allegations against Mr. Mortada. It alleges that those allegations were false. District policy required such a complaint to go through MWD's confidential EEO office. Instead, the complaint alleges, it went to the entire board and was then leaked to the news media.

MWD hired an independent outside investigator. On April 22, 2025, the complaint alleges, the district told Mr. Mortada that the investigator made no findings against him and closed the matter. The complaint alleges that MWD never corrected the public record.

The complaint alleges that, after Mr. Mortada complained about the discrimination and took part in EEO investigations, MWD changed his status from witness to subject in an investigation, took away his responsibilities, and shut him out of meetings and decisions. It alleges that this got worse after the board fired Mr. Hagekhalil on January 29, 2025. It also alleges that the leaked allegations caused an international employer to withdraw an executive job offer it had made to him.

The claims

• Discrimination because of race, national origin and ancestry, and religion (Gov. Code § 12940(a)), against MWD.
• Harassment because of race, national origin and ancestry, and religion (§ 12940(j)), against MWD and against Directors Morris and Dennstedt personally (§ 12940(j)(3)).
• Retaliation (§ 12940(h)), against MWD.
• Failure to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation (§ 12940(k)), against MWD.

Mr. Mortada asks for lost earnings, damages for emotional distress, attorney's fees and costs, and punitive damages against the two directors individually. He does not ask for punitive damages against MWD; California law does not allow them against a public agency. He demands a jury trial.

What the public record shows

On December 10, 2024, MWD's Board of Directors voted to censure Director John Morris, San Marino's representative on the board. In its press release that day, MWD said an independent Equal Employment Opportunity investigation found that Morris "made a disparaging statement toward a staff member on the basis of race or national origin, in violation of Metropolitan's Administrative Code." MWD said the remark was made at a board event in late 2023. The board stopped paying for his travel for the district, barred him from representing MWD at events, and required counseling.

"Metropolitan cannot and will not tolerate racist comments from its leaders," board chair Adán Ortega, Jr. said in the release. MWD's release did not name the staff member. Press reports, including California City News on December 17, 2024, identified him as Mr. Mortada.

The censure was a separate action by the MWD board. It is not a finding by a court in this lawsuit. No court has found MWD, Director Morris or Director Dennstedt liable on any claim in this case. They will have the chance to answer the allegations in court.

Why this case matters

MWD is a public agency. FEHA protects public employees the same way it protects employees of private companies. The law also holds individuals personally liable for their own harassment. Since 2019, California law has said that a single incident of harassing conduct can be enough to take a hostile work environment claim to trial (Gov. Code § 12923(b)).

This case asks what a public agency must do when its own governing board members are the source of the harassment, and what it owes an employee whose name it let be damaged after its own investigator cleared him. Read more about discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.

Sources

• Complaint for Damages, Mortada v. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court No. 26STCV22196, filed July 13, 2026. Look up the case on the Los Angeles Superior Court case access site.
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, "Metropolitan Board of Directors censures board colleague for racist remark," press release, December 10, 2024.
• Brittany Maldonado, "Metropolitan Water District board member censured for racial slur," California City News, December 17, 2024.