During his tenure in the Assembly, Ridley-Thomas chaired the Elections & Redistricting and Revenue & Taxation committees, as well as the Select Committee on Mental Health. He was also a member of the Assembly Appropriations, Rules, Joint Rules, Health, Water, Public Safety, Local Government, Public Safety, Public Employment & Retirement, and Labor & Employment committees.
Sexual harassment allegations and resignation On December 27, 2017, Ridley-Thomas announced that he would resign from the State Assembly on December 31. He cited unspecified health problems in his statement and said he would need "an extended period of time to recuperate. In August 2018, the
Los Angeles Times reported that Ridley-Thomas was "the subject of two
sexual harassment complaints at the time he stepped down from the Legislature." An Assembly investigation released on January 16, 2019 concluded that Ridley-Thomas likely made an unwanted sexual advance toward a female Capitol staffer two years prior. On October 13, 2021, the
United States Attorney for the Central District of California announced that a
federal grand jury had indicted Ridley-Thomas's father and former USC Dean of Social Work
Marilyn L. Flynn for "a bribery scheme in which [Sebastian Ridley-Thomas] received substantial benefits from the university in exchange for [Ridley-Thomas's father] supporting county contracts and lucrative contract amendments with the university..." == Post-electoral career ==