Linda Murado sued the City of Hazel Park on Nov. 7, alleging that City Manager Edward Klobucher sexually harassed her for nearly ten years, from her start as his executive assistant through her later work as special projects coordinator.
The city is the only defendant. FOX 2 Detroit based its account on a 16-page complaint filed by Fett Law. The filing seeks a jury trial and several forms of relief, without naming a dollar figure.
What the Complaint Describes
Murado began as Klobucher's executive assistant in 2015 and later became special projects coordinator. According to the complaint, the harassment ran across that span of work for the city.
The filing says Klobucher repeatedly hugged and kissed her, stared at her body and made sexual comments. It also says he called her his 'work wife' and 'beautiful Disney princess.' Murado says she told him, repeatedly, to stop.
In November 2024, she says, she pushed him away during unwanted physical contact and later texted him not to touch her. The complaint treats that message as a line she had already drawn in person.
Raises, a Blocked Move and City Hall
The complaint does not stop at comments and contact. It alleges Klobucher used control over Murado's pay and assignments to keep her close, and that favorable treatment depended on her tolerating unwanted advances. Those allegations are pleaded as hostile work environment, sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual harassment.
After she talked about leaving, the complaint says, he gave her unsolicited raises. In May 2025, it says, he blocked a transfer to another department.
Murado also alleges that the assistant city manager, the city attorney and the HR coordinator knew about the interactions and did not investigate or act. The HR coordinator, the complaint says, told her to 'smooth things out' instead of opening an investigation.
Klobucher has held the manager's job a long time. Hazel Park's website identifies him as city manager and says he was appointed in February 2002.
Resignation, a Paper and a Police Escort
The complaint places the break in late October 2025. Murado says she submitted her resignation on Oct. 29 after another incident in which Klobucher allegedly stared at her chest.
The next day, Oct. 30, the city attorney allegedly pressured her to sign a separation agreement without giving her a copy. Her attorney later revoked that agreement.
She returned to work on Oct. 31 and, the complaint says, learned the agreement had already ended a day earlier. After she confronted Klobucher, he had police escort her out. The city said it would treat her as having resigned that same day.
The Relief, and a Different Nearby Case
Murado is seeking a jury trial, lost wages and benefits, compensation for emotional and physical harm, attorney fees and other relief. The complaint does not request a specific dollar amount. Klobucher is described throughout as the person whose conduct is at issue, but he is not named as a defendant.
A separate employment case in neighboring Oak Park is not the same lawsuit and shares allegations of a hostile work environment and sexual harassment. CBS Detroit reported that former records clerk Tammara Saloum sued Oak Park, a former supervisor and two co-workers over an alleged hostile work environment, including discrimination-related statements, sexual harassment and improper disclosure of sensitive personal information. On Feb. 17, 2026, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights dismissed Saloum's dual complaint, citing insufficient evidence to proceed. Oak Park said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and does not comment on pending litigation.
Murado's filing, by contrast, puts one employer on the caption: the City of Hazel Park, whose manager's page still lists the man appointed in 2002.
