San Benito County settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against
the Council of Government’s director for $70,000 on the condition
that the woman alleging the harassment resign from county
employment irrevocably, according to the settlement.
Hollister – San Benito County settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Council of Government’s director for $70,000 on the condition that the woman alleging the harassment resign from county employment irrevocably, according to the settlement.
COG employee Deborah Martinez, whose resignation will be official Nov. 1, sued Executive Director Tom Quigley almost a year ago for sexual harassment and for retaliating against her for reporting the harassment, according to the suit.
Although a judge dismissed one of the four claims of harassment Martinez alleged for lack of evidence, he determined she could attempt to prove the other three in court – which prompted the county to settle to avoid costly trial costs, according to officials.
Although all involved parties signed a confidentially agreement regarding the settlement, Quigley continues to proclaim his innocence of all the harassment charges and said a settlement was entered into to secure Martinez’s resignation. He declined to comment further on the suit or settlement.
Martinez sued Quigley and the county for four separate claims of harassment last November, including sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, retaliation and failure to correct the harassment.
Martinez claimed in her suit that Quigley had made repeated advances and inappropriate comments toward her for nearly a year. She stated she complained about Quigley’s behavior on several occasions to her union representative and Liz Brown, then the director of human resources, but was retaliated against by Quigley – her supervisor – for reporting him.
San Benito County Superior Court Judge Harry Tobias dismissed one sexual harassment claim last month for a lack of evidence proving Quigley harassed Martinez, along with a request Martinez made asking Quigley pay her punitive damages for wages or promotions she lost due to the alleged harassment.
However, Tobias determined that based on Martinez’s version of events she could attempt to prove her remaining claims in court, according to the settlement.
Martinez decided not to pursue her claims and offered to drop the suit and irrevocably resign as a county employee in exchange for $70,000, according to the settlement. Her attorney, Bill Marder, declined to comment on the settlement pursuant to the confidentiality clause.
COG Board Member Robert Scattini said the settlement was an unfortunate turn of events for the suit to take and that he would rather have taken it to trial. However, it was cheaper to settle the suit instead of shelling out triple or quadruple the amount of money to defend it in court, he said.
“I would have liked to have gone to court. If someone gets accused of wrong doing and he’s proclaiming he’s innocent … he should be proven guilty before he has to pay any money,” Scattini said. “But unfortunately the amount of money you have to pay for a lawsuit, it’s astronomical. It’s just wrong, but that’s the way the dice rolls.”
While the settlement leaves a bad taste in Scattini’s mouth, he said the upside is that the $70,000 will most likely be covered by either COG’s insurance or the county’s – taking tax payers off the hook for the bill. Supervisor Pat Loe, who declined to comment on the settlement, said attorneys are currently checking on which agencies’ insurance will cover it.
COG is a regional transportation advisory board made up of elected officials from Hollister, San Juan Bautista and San Benito County. Martinez alleged Quigley, who is appointed by the COG board, asked her to move in with him and promised her a car if she agreed, according to the suit. She also claimed Quigley displayed jealous behavior when introduced to Martinez’s boyfriend and once drove by the boyfriend’s house yelling obscenities, according to the suit.
Martinez alleged Quigley created a hostile work environment after she reported the harassment to county representatives, such as banning her from meetings and revoking her title as COG safety director. When asked why Martinez would make these allegations if they weren’t true as he claimed, Quigley declined to comment due to the confidentiality agreement.
“I’d like to comment, but I don’t know if I can,” he said.
The agreement marks the second time the county has settled a harassment suit this year. Martinez’s attorney also represented two women in the Victim Witness Department who sued District Attorney John Sarsfield for harassment, which the county settled for $35,000 in January.
Supervisor Reb Monaco said this suit was largely out of supervisor’s hands because it focused around COG, however settling two harassment suits against county department heads in one year is unpleasant, he said.
“Obviously I don’t think anybody in my position would appreciate it,” he said.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
