County officials confirmed Monday a proposed agreement between
District Attorney John Sarsfield and two women in the Victim
Witness department include both women moving out of the office,
$35,000 to split between them and a requirement that the DA take
management training classes.
Hollister – County officials confirmed Monday a proposed agreement between District Attorney John Sarsfield and two women in the Victim Witness department include both women moving out of the office, $35,000 to split between them and a requirement that the DA take management training classes.
But Sarsfield hasn’t signed the settlement stemming from a harassment lawsuit yet and said the conditions are nothing more than “rank speculation.”
“This thing is not settled and I don’t know if it’s ever going to be settled,” Sarsfield said. “Those comments… are in error, at least to anything that I’m going to do or anything that I’m going to say. It’s completely wrong.”
But Sarsfield’s attorney, Jon Giffen, said Katie Fancher and Julie Roybal moved out of the district attorney’s office into a building on San Felipe Road on Monday and that Sarsfield was in agreement to participating in management training courses.
However, he wasn’t sure what the classes would consist of.
“There are plenty of different seminars given throughout the state on management
training,” Giffen said.
Sarsfield said he had planned to move the Victim Witness department to another location in May of 2003, but didn’t get around to it until now.
“The move is independent of any lawsuit,” he said.
The women allege Sarsfield had an affair with his office manager since his tenure began in January 2003 and that it led to a hostile and unfair workplace.
Supervisor Reb Monaco said other conditions of the suit include the women receiving one county car to use between them, reporting to the county administrative officer, currently interim CAO Gil Solorio, instead of Sarsfield and splitting $35,000 – which will be paid out of county coffers.
Monaco said the management classes were originally called sensitivity classes but the verbiage was changed. He was not certain why the terminology was changed or where or how often Sarsfield will have to attend.
He said the classes were requested by Fancher and Roybal and the county supported it.
“It’s a standard practice in these types of situations,” Monaco said. “A problem was identified and it’s more in the direction to make sure the management is informed of their responsibilities. Training is a way of documenting what actually has taken place.”
Roybal and Fancher’s attorney, Bill Marder, declined to comment about any conditions of the suit because of a confidentiality clause in the proposed agreement.
Lawyer Rick Bolanos, who represents the county in the settlement, said Monday the agreement was submitted to all parties last week and both Roybal and Fancher have already signed.
“We’re still waiting for the District Attorney,” Bolanos said.
Sarsfield also declined to comment on the conditions in detail because of the confidentiality clause.
“No one else may be honoring the confidentiality clause but I’m going to,” he said. “But if and when it’s done I’m going to insist it’s all done publicly.”
If the suit isn’t settled, it would go to trial. Giffen said there’s no deadline for the settlement to be signed and that it could drag on.
Giffen has said entering into a settlement with the women is in no way an admission to the complaints alleged in the suit.
“We’re cooperating fully to get it finalized,” Giffen said. “I would say there has been an agreement in concept to settle the matter and that’s what we’re doing.”
Both Giffen and Marder have said a trial will be more expensive than settling and hope the suit doesn’t go that route.
The county has spent more than $2.5 million in outside lawyer fees since 2000 to litigate cases including corruption lawsuits against supervisors and the harassment suit against Sarsfield. The board shelled out almost $300,000 for outside attorney fees between April and September of this year.
The women filed a personnel complaint against Sarsfield in June and followed up with a lawsuit in August.
In their complaint, the women claimed Sarsfield behaved in an “openly rude and contemptuous manner” toward women in the office, took away Fancher and Roybal’s office although offices are necessary for the “sensitive nature” of their work with victims, allowed his office manager to work less than 40-hour weeks and attempted to promote her to a role above the Victim Witness Coordinator.
When the suit first came to light, the county commissioned an investigative report that identified a “number of personnel issues that need to be addressed and corrected” within the district attorney’s office.
Monaco said the Board of Supervisors most likely won’t take any action on the report.
“The investigative report was provided… and it went to settlement, and that’s the end of that,” he said.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
