Newport Beach’s HR director sues the city, claims retaliation and cover-up of possible wrongdoing

Newport Beach Human Resources Director Barbara Salvini sued the city last month, alleging City Manager Grace Leung and City Atty. Aaron Harp retaliated against her and tried to cover up an audit suggesting Leung and Fire Chief Jeff Boyles had violated policy to obtain financial gain.

The audit was the result of a 2023 investigation involving executive level staff, including members of the human resources department, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 26. It found that Leung and Boyles may have improperly manipulated employee leave time, and it was “highly suggestive of an illegal gift of public funds,” Salvini’s attorneys claimed.

Representatives for Newport Beach declined to go into detail regarding the audit or the lawsuit, citing their policy on pending litigation and personnel issues. However, officials “have looked into these allegations and found them to be without merit,” a city spokesman said Monday.

The investigation would have normally been handled by Salvini as head of the human resources department. But members of her staff were involved in the matter, so the city manager was placed in charge, according to the suit.

Salvini said rather than expand the investigation in light of potential wrongdoing, the city manager instructed her to alter records in order to conceal it. And since then, the human resources director claims she has been unfairly passed over for a pay increase while Leung has allegedly sought to micromanage Salvini and her department in an effort to oust her from her position.

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“Leung now routinely undermines Plaintiff’s advice, flagrantly disregards past practices and policies and promotes marginalization and ostracism of Plaintiff,” Salvini’s attorneys wrote in her lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges Harp has attacked Salvini’s authority by belittling her in front of elected officials and others. She claims that he has raised his voice at her, slammed his hands on objects and threatened her job security on multiple occasions.

Harp eventually started limiting contact with Salvini after she filed a formal complaint with the City Council in February. Mayor Will O’Neill called for another investigation, which did not sustain any of the human resources director’s claims regarding the city manager or city attorney. Salvini’s lawsuit described that investigation as a “sham and designed to protect the city.”

As a result, Salvini claims her work is now frequently circumvented and her advice regarding matters that may open Newport Beach up to risks and liabilities gets ignored. She pointed out that union dues payments were being taken out of her salary even though she is not a union employee. After Salvini demanded to have that money refunded for her and other city staff in a similar situation, she claims she received no response from Leung.

Salvini also took issue with a report on noise levels that was the basis of the City Council’s decision to pass zoning amendments related to Newport Beach’s housing element, overriding a decision by the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission. She claims the report contains inaccurate information and noted that it was prepared by a developer interested in building projects near John Wayne Airport.