An employee for Gov. Phil Murphy has initiated a process to sue the state after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by another staff member during the 2017 gubernatorial campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Katie Brennan filed a notice of claim Dec. 28, according to the Wall Street Journal. Brennan, a volunteer on the Murphy campaign and now chief of staff at a state housing agency, has said Al Alvarez raped her after a gathering of campaign staffers at a Jersey City bar in April 2017.

Alvarez, who has not been charged with a crime and has denied the allegation, resigned on Oct. 2.

EDITORIAL:Katie Brennan’s story raises serious questions about Phil Murphy, top aides

PHIL MURPHY:I was told not to talk after emailing Katie Brennan about 'sensitive matter'

Nine people were named in the suit including Murphy, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and seven other members of the governor's campaign, transition team and administration, according to the Wall Street Journal report. Spokesmen for the governor and attorney general declined to comment.

Testimony on the allegations was heard in December by a 15-member panel that lawmakers authorized in October to investigate the Murphy administration’s hiring practices.

The probe focused on how the administration handled the allegation against Alvarez, a former campaign staffer who, despite that allegation, worked on Murphy's transition and was later hired as chief of staff at the Schools Development Authority.

Brennan said she first tried to pursue criminal charges against Alvarez, and when that failed, she shared her allegation with several transition and administration officials, hoping they would take action against Alvarez.

"I had access to people in the highest positions of power in the state of New Jersey, and at each turn, my pleas for help went unanswered,” Brennan testified. “Somehow it wasn’t a priority to address my sexual assault … until it impacted them.”

Her efforts included sending an email in June to Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy. Even though Murphy quickly replied that he was "on it," he maintains that he did not know the specific nature of Brennan's email until Oct. 2, the day Alvarez resigned amid media inquiries concerning the allegation. Brennan hadn't detailed in the email what the sensitive matter was.