U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v Schuylkill County (M.D. Pa.)
On April 1, 2022, the United States filed a motion to intervene and a complaint in Doe et al. v. Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, et al., (M.D. Pa.). The complaint alleged that Schuylkill County violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The lawsuit alleged that four female employees experienced a hostile work environment based on sex and that the County retaliated against them when they opposed this hostile work environment. According to the complaint, a Schuylkill County Commissioner was primarily responsible for the harassment which created the hostile work environment. On January 17, 2023, the Court entered a consent decree resolving the case. The consent decree required, among other things, that Schuylkill County: retain a consultant with expertise in crafting anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies and with expertise in training employees on such policies; permit that consultant to conduct a workplace climate survey of County employees; adopt policy changes the consultant recommended; and conduct training recommended by the consultant. The United States also required the County to offer the four female plaintiffs a total of $850,000, plus an additional amount for their attorney’s fees and costs, as a condition for entering into the consent decree. This lawsuit was part of the Civil Rights Division’s Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Initiative which seeks to eradicate sexual harassment in state and local government workplaces.
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