The Nebraska Democratic Party is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who claims the party didn’t adequately address her reports of sexual harassment and retaliated against her for bringing them forward. This legal action raises questions about how political organizations handle such serious allegations.
Larissa Schultz, who served as an organizer for just over a year, lodged her complaint in federal court on Tuesday. In her lawsuit, Schultz accuses the party’s communications director, Jose Flores Jr., of giving her “unwanted personal and sexual attention,” and asserts that party leaders did not conduct a proper investigation when she reported the issue.
The lawsuit names the Nebraska Democratic Party as the sole defendant, with Schultz alleging sex discrimination and retaliation. She seeks compensation for lost wages and other damages.
According to the complaint, Schultz started her position with the party in late 2023, and claims that the harassment began shortly thereafter. She describes receiving “inappropriate text messages” and experiencing unwanted physical contact, such as Flores allegedly putting his arms around her and kissing her cheek.
In March of 2024, Schultz claims she reported Flores’ actions to a supervisor who advised her to file a formal report with senior leadership. She submitted the formal complaint to the organization’s director in September of that year.
After filing the complaint, Schultz asserts that her “treatment within NDP changed.” In November, she reached out to Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb for an update on the investigation, claiming in her lawsuit that Kleeb was unaware Schultz intended to pursue formal complaint procedures.
According to the lawsuit, an interview with Flores was conducted by the party’s ethics committee in January of 2025.
While the exact end date of Schultz’s employment with the party is unclear, the lawsuit notes she was removed from the public staff webpage in late January.
The lawsuit alleges, “NDP’s Executive Director and State Party Chair personally knew of Schultz’s complaints and participated in NDP’s response to those complaints. NDP’s senior leadership nevertheless failed to initiate a timely and effective investigation or take corrective measures reasonably calculated to prevent further harassment. NDP then ended or refused to continue Schultz’s employment.”
The case was initially handled by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Rossiter, before he recused himself on Friday, leading to its reassignment to Senior U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Bataillon.
In response to these allegations, Chair Jane Kleeb issued a statement defending the party’s actions. “The Nebraska Democratic Party takes all complaints of harassment seriously,” the statement said. “We stand by our internal process and decisions regarding the allegations and that there was no harassment. This was also reviewed by the EEOC, and no further action was taken by that body. As this matter is now in litigation, we will only address the claims through the legal process.”
