Madison County Board in Favor of Settlement in Former Sheriff’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Former Sheriff of Madison County Robert Hertz’s agony over alleged sexual harassment and a subsequent $1 million lawsuit may soon end. The Madison County Board approved of a settlement in the federal harassment lawsuit brought against Hertz by a 22-7 vote.
Jamie Linton, the former sheriff’s secretary, in her 2013 lawsuit alleged that he turned against her after she rejected his sexual overtures. She claims that all this created an awkward working environment that she was unable to handle between January 2012 and May 2013. However, Hertz refuted the allegations and said they were aimed at hurting his chances for re-election in 2014.
He was eventually defeated by Sheriff John Lakin in the Democratic primary. According to sexual harassment attorneys, Linton’s initial claim for damages of over $1 million was finally settled in federal court this month for $42,500. Madison County Board approved the settlement, which will be paid from the self-funded liability program.
Employee wrongfully targeted
In 2013, Capt. Eric Decker from the sheriff’s department had also filed a second federal suit against Hertz alleging that he was wrongfully targeted because he supported Linton and her allegations. This case is also due for settlement. According to Decker, the former sheriff had violated his constitutional rights after he searched through Decker’s personal records and phone calls in what he claims was retaliation for supporting Linton.
Plaintiffs seeks compensatory and punitive damages
According to sexual harassment attorneys, Linton suggested in the lawsuit that Hertz felt romantically inclined towards her and was jealous of what she termed as a ‘platonic’ relationship she shared with Decker, whom she frequently interacted with. Linton claims Hertz made inappropriate sexual advances and also harassed her via emails.
She also claimed the former sheriff used GPS to track Decker’s activities. In his suit, Decker has sought compensatory damages of a minimum of $50,000 and $75,000 in punitive damages. On the other hand, Linton had sought $1 million each for compensatory damages and punitive damages. $1 million for receiving some unwanted emails and some strange comments? Sorry, that amount does not even come close to something rational. $25,000 perhaps and money for any missed work time.
A few asinine emails and comments at work should not equal this.
Former hospice employee files sexual harassment lawsuit against supervisor
In other sexual harassment news, a Henderson woman and former clinical manager at Creekside Hospice in Las Vegas, Veneta Lepera, filed a lawsuit through her sexual harassment attorney in Clark County District Court against her former supervisor. The company disputes the allegations and said they would reply at the appropriate time.
According to the lawsuit, Lepera claims that her supervisor, Jerry Bolyard, began to sexually harass her both physically and verbally in May 2010. She claims he fondled her breast, slapped her on her buttocks, and called her derogatory names on several occasions. Lepera also alleges in her lawsuit that Bolyard repeatedly made sexual advances towards her.
Despite her requests to stop, she claims the supervisor refused to while repeated complaints to Creekside’s human resources department were ignored. Lepera said she later learned that Monique Armendariz, the company’s HR manager was married to Bolyard. She also claims that her supervisor and other higher-ups in the company spread rumors about her professional conduct in retaliation to her complaints.
