Prominent California attorney was fired from the Justice Department for cause'

"Gates, who spent the last 10 months as a deputy assistant U.S. attorney general in the Civil Rights Division, announced on social media on Sunday, Nov. 9 that he had resigned his position in the Trump administration and was returning home to work for the city once more. He said he was very conflicted about leaving because the job was the honor of a lifetime, but the months felt like years as he missed his family and their events. Gates, in a call Friday morning, maintained he resigned."

"Gates, in his initial announcement and subsequent interview Monday with a Orange County Register journalist, did not disclose that he was fired from his job. However, Gates was terminated for cause from the position, according to his SF-52 form, an employment document utilized by the federal government. The form said the action was authorized by Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general who oversees the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division."

"Gates was accused of creating a hostile work environment for multiple women in the office with whom he worked, according to a Justice Department source who was not among those who complained about Gates. He allegedly had a consistent pattern of referring to female colleagues by derogatory and demeaning names, the source said, and complained about the employment of a woman who was pregnant."

Michael Gates left his Huntington Beach city attorney post to join the Trump administration in February and served about 10 months as a deputy assistant U.S. attorney general in the Civil Rights Division. He announced on Nov. 9 that he had resigned and was returning to work for the city, saying he missed his family and felt conflicted about leaving. Personnel records show he was terminated for cause via an SF-52 form authorized by Harmeet Dhillon. The Justice Department alleged Gates created a hostile work environment for multiple women, used derogatory names for female colleagues, and complained about a pregnant employee. Gates maintains he resigned and plans legal action.

Read at www.ocregister.com