ALBANY — Kris Thompson, a longtime state Senate GOP aide and former chief of staff for Sen. Daphne Jordan, has filed a human rights complaint accusing the lawmaker of firing him after he declined to attend a campaign strategy meeting at a Halfmoon restaurant in July.

The formal complaint leveled by Thompson, who for many years had been a confidant and press secretary for former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, alleges Jordan violated his "basic human rights," including asking him to pull a "candy wagon" in a parade last March while dressed as a leprechaun.

The complaint, filed Aug. 20 with the state Division of Human Rights, was not made public, although a copy was forwarded recently by that agency to the state Senate's leadership offices. It's unclear whether Jordan's office had reported receiving the written complaint about a month after she fired Thompson in mid-July.

Jordan did not respond immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday morning. Her spokesman, Joshua Fitzpatrick, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, after the Times Union published a story about the complaint online, saying the "allegations are baseless and wholly without merit. And frankly, it’s very sad that a disgruntled and terminated employee would lie in such a manner.”

Last week, Fitzpatrick said Thompson "no longer works for Sen. Jordan. As this relates to an internal personnel matter, the senator’s office doesn’t have any further comment."

A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader John J. Flanagan declined to comment.

Thompson, a Saratoga County resident, declined to comment when contacted Wednesday.

"I felt that my direct supervisor (Jordan) violated my basic human rights by directing me to wear clothes not befitting a 61-year-old grown man," the complaint filed by Thompson states. "Dressing me up as a leprechaun is wrong. A supervisor, let alone a sitting state senator, should exercise better judgment than to send such images to a subordinate. I refused to wear the clothes to the parade."

The complaint includes copies of numerous text messages exchanged by Thompson and the senator, including one she sent last March to Thompson and another staff member, Laurie Huneau, that included online images of leprechaun clothing.

"Wig and hat for Kris when he is pulling the candy wagon," the text message attributed Jordan states, adding: "Suit to go with it."

"I'm sure that's exactly what he was planning to wear," Huneau texted back, with an emoji of a four-leaf clover, according to the documents.

Jordan is not prohibited from discussing the complaint or her decision to fire Thompson. The former Halfmoon town board member is serving in her first year in the Senate after defeating Democratic challenger Aaron Gladd last November.

The text messages attached to the complaint also include messages that Thompson sent to Jordan in July explaining his reasons for not wanting to attend the campaign fundraising meeting at the Halfmoon Diner on Route 9 that month.

Thompson said several years ago he went to the diner for breakfast, as he did about three times a week at the time, and employees there "spoke badly about Sen. Bruno and told me to my face that he was corrupt."

In his text message to Jordan, Thompson wrote that he pledged following that experience to "never step foot in there again."

"Maybe you need to get over it," Jordan responded in a text message to Thompson. "They did not like me at all or the Halfmoon Republicans, but I have been working on changing that. ... I am looking towards them to possibly do food for Greek Fest ... esp. since they provide it for St. Basil's (in Troy) and are big contributors."

Their text exchanges then grew more heated.

"Let me be perfectly clear. I'm not stepping foot in there. Ever," Thompson wrote. "And keep pushing and I will resign from fundraising and your campaign for re-election. Let me know how that works for you."

Jordan responded: "Why would you eliminate ... people that could help bring the Greek community to me?"

Three minutes later, Thompson texted her a request to let him know to whom he should provide the information that he had compiled for fundraising events.

"Whoever the next chief of staff is I suppose if that's how you want it," Jordan responded.

Thompson's human rights complaint states that he viewed the senator's written remark as a "threat to my career and ability to support my family."

He said in the complaint that the following day at the Capitol, Jordan fired him in front of two other staff members. He was then escorted by a Senate sergeant-at-arms from the senator's office to his car in the Empire State Plaza parking garage "like a criminal rather than a 19-year government employee with a remarkable career of serving the great people of this state."

At the Capitol, Thompson is more widely known for his work with Bruno, who was a political icon in the Capital Region and served as a senator for more than three decades before resigning in 2008 as an FBI investigation of his business dealings intensified. Bruno was found guilty of fraud at his federal criminal trial a year later, but after a successful appeal of that conviction he was acquitted at his second trial in 2014.

Thompson was a constant fixture at Bruno's side during both trials and later went to work as a Senate aide for the administrations of former Senate majority leaders Dean Skelos and John J. Flanagan, who is now minority leader.

Thompson's LinkedIn profile indicates he is working as a compliance coordinator with Albany Arena Football, a position he has held since January, when he was appointed as Jordan's chief of staff.

Jordan battled for GOP support last year in the 43rd Senate District, which includes Columbia County and parts of Rensselaer, Saratoga and Washington counties, after former Sen. Kathy Marchione abruptly announced her retirement in April 2018. Jordan had been Marchione's longtime legislative director and received the backing of Marchione during her campaign.

But their relationship soured prior to Jordan's victory in the general election, and Jordan was quietly removed from Marchione's Senate payroll before the end of 2018, according to people familiar with the matter.