Justice Department Joins Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against County Commissioner
When the Department of Justice announces via their website that they have joined a civil case alleging sexual harassment against you, then you should know that you have serious problems. In this case, four female employees of Schuylkill County are accusing the commissioner of sexual harassment, coerced sexual encounters, and retaliation for rejecting sexual advances. The case highlights years of sexual misconduct within the county.
U.S. Attorneys aiding in the case state that the Department of Justice will not tolerate sexual misconduct or retaliation over unwanted sexual advances.
What will the DOJ do?
Right now, the DOJ has taken a special interest in the case against the County Commissioner. Through their Civil Rights Division, they are alleging civil rights abuses by the commissioner and the county. They are alleging that not only did the commissioner subject female employees to unwanted sexual advances but retaliated against those who did not acquiesce. Among the allegations leveled against the commissioner is that he successfully coerced one female employee to have sex with him on multiple occasions under the threat of being fired. The other three women allege that he made crude jokes, unwelcome advances, and spread a rumor that he’d had sex with one of them. The DOJ alleges that officials were aware of the commissioner’s conduct but did nothing to intervene. Two of the women were demoted and the other two were transferred to less desirable positions. Despite an obvious conflict of interest, it was the commissioner who was allowed to cast the decisive vote to have the women moved.
The lawsuit has not just been filed against the commissioner, but the county as his employer. The lawsuit is part of the Civil Rights Division’s Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Initiative, an attempt to eradicate sexual harassment in state and municipal governments. As part of the lawsuit, the DOJ could come down hard on the County for failing to intervene on the women’s behalf. This will include mandatory oversight of their operations and placing an effective sexual harassment policy in place. Since so many things went wrong here, massive remedial action is required to prevent this from happening again. Nonetheless, if you’re a defendant, the last thing you want is the DOJ becoming involved in your sexual harassment lawsuit.
How does this happen?
Most of what constitutes power is not money but dirt. Jeffrey Epstein got away with running a pedophile empire and no one had the power to stop him for decades because he was so well connected. Connections are great, but the nature of those connections need to be hierarchical to pull something like this off. In this case, it is more than likely that the commissioner held considerable power through fear. Everyone around him was in his pocket for one reason or another.
Talk to a Jacksonville Sexual Harassment Attorney
While those in power may abuse that power, on a long enough timescale, the truth will come out. Call a Jacksonville sexual harassment attorney today and we can begin the process of preventing future sexual harassment in your workplace again.
Resource:
justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-moves-intervene-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-against-schuylkill-county
