Brodkorb: Senate leak was invasion of his privacy

Fired GOP Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb is accusing his former employer of invading his privacy.

The day news broke that the state denied his request for unemployment benefits, Brodkorb's attorney on Friday accused the Senate of leaking private personnel information and said they plan to add invasion of privacy to an upcoming lawsuit.

"Over the last few months, representatives of the Minnesota Senate have systematically trampled on the legal rights of privacy afforded to a state employee," attorney Philip Villaume said in a statement. "Due to the decision by the Minnesota Senate to release Mr. Brodkorb's private unemployment information, Mr. Brodkorb will be adding an additional claim."

Brodkorb is planning to file a gender discrimination lawsuit against the Senate, where he worked as Republicans' communication chief. He alleges he was fired from his $94,000-a-year job for having an affair with former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, who stepped down from her leadership position after being confronted about the relationship. Brodkorb is claiming that females who had similar affairs with male senators were treated differently.

The invasion of privacy claim is the latest flareup in what has become a months-long feud between Brodkorb and the Senate, which so far has refused to mediate the matter.

Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman declined to comment Friday, citing the pending lawsuit. Senate spokesman Steve Sviggum also declined to comment.

Brodkorb's filing for unemployment and the state's rejection of the claim was protected by state privacy laws. But when he filed an appeal of that decision with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, that became a matter of public record.

"Mr. Ludeman has already publicly released private data from Mr. Brodkorb's personal employment file without proper authorization and Mr. Ludeman later defamed him by accusing Mr. Brodkorb of attempting to 'extort' a payment from the Minnesota Senate," Villaume said. "The latest action by Mr. Ludeman is another example of the lack of leadership" by the Senate.

Brodkorb is raising his invasion of privacy complaints at the same time his attorneys say they plan to grill legislators and staffers about their current and past romantic entanglements to bolster their case.

"The more his privacy is invaded," Villaume warned, the higher the dollar amount of Brodkorb's eventual lawsuit.