#Former Andy King staffer sues him for retaliating against her

A former staff member of embattled City Councilman Andy King sued him in federal court Wednesday — claiming his office retaliated against her after she cooperated with investigators who probed him for gender discrimination.

The former staffer, Shana Melius, claims in the suit filed in Manhattan federal court that the saga kicked off in 2019, when the City Council launched an investigation into claims that King had engaged in “gender-based harassment” of a former employee.

Melius spoke with investigators from the City Council as part of the probe and told them about a scenario when she felt threatened by King’s deputy chief of staff, Comy Lewis.

At a meeting in 2019, Lewis had “towered over and screamed at” Melius in front of King, according to the suit. She told investigators that she felt threatened by Lewis at the time, adding “she could not understand why he would be acting this way toward a woman.”

After she cooperated with the investigation, King held a staff meeting at his apartment and demanded to know who had spoken with the City Council officials as part of their probe.

Melius fessed up to cooperating — and was immediately retaliated against for doing so, she claims in the suit.

As part of the retaliation, King forced Melius to report to work at his district office in the Bronx, rather than at the Lower Manhattan location where she had been working previously.

This extended Melius’ commute to up to two hours each way, she claimed in the suit.

“There was no change in Melius’ job duties or any other legitimate reason for this change in Melius’ job location. Rather, King was retaliating against Melius,” the suit states.

The long commute and stress caused by it led to Melius failing an in vitro fertilization procedure that she was undergoing at the time, according to the suit.

In October 2019, the City Council censured King for retaliating against whistleblowers who cooperated with investigators in their probe, including Melius.

Melius resigned from her post later that year because of the alleged retaliation. She is seeking a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages in the suit.

A rep for King did not immediately respond.