The U.S. Department of Justice is poised to withdraw from a federal sexual harassment lawsuit involving Schuylkill County.

No details were officially released about a settlement agreement between the county and the DOJ that county commissioners approved by a split vote Wednesday.

Additional actions, including official approvals by the DOJ and the federal judge presiding over the case, still must be completed before the settlement can be finalized.

The settlement involves only the part of the lawsuit involving the DOJ versus the county; it does not involve the four women who filed the lawsuit, nor the other defendants.

Commissioners Gary J. Hess and Chairman Barron L. Hetherington voted in favor of the settlement; Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr., against whom the lawsuit was filed in March 2021, voted against it.

In a prepared statement, Halcovage revealed three aspects of the settlement, mentioning training, policies, and that the DOJ would be ending its involvement.

“I am voting ‘no’, but not because I disagree with everything in the agreement. To the contrary, I support all efforts to provide county employees with adequate training and to ensure that our county has effective policies in place,” he said. “My goal has always been to do what is best for the county. I am also pleased that the Department of Justice will be ending its involvement in this lawsuit.”

“But I vote no because the agreement assumes I acted unlawfully. To the contrary, I have denied the plaintiffs’ allegations. I want my chance in court to tell you what really happened. Confidentiality restrictions have prevented me from being candid despite my desire to do so, and this has been frustrating for me and my family,” Halcovage said.

“By voting yes I would be admitting to events that never occurred. I cannot ethically do that and it wouldn’t be the truth. For that reason, I have no choice but to vote ‘no’.”

United States Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson, U. S. District Court, Middle District, Scranton, in May granted the DOJ’s request to join the suit as a plaintiff.

The mediation, by federal Magistrate Judge Joseph F. Saporito Jr., that led to the settlement, was requested by both Department of Justice’s Employment Litigation Section lawyers and Attorney Marie Milie Jones, who represents the county, on Dec. 8, 2022.

According to court documents filed Monday, the settlement was reached on Jan. 6.

Jones on Jan. 9 submitted a letter to Carlson asking that a discovery hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 11 be continued in light of the settlement.

“In order to move promptly to finalize the resolution reached during mediation last week and to avoid unnecessary time and expense on litigation matters between those two parties, the United States and Schuylkill County have agreed to finalize a proposed consent decree immediately. This decree must be approved by the county at a public meeting, the next of which is set for Wednesday, January 11,” she wrote.

The lawsuit was filed on March 16, 2021 by four women who work in the courthouse. They contend that beginning in 2012, the year Halcovage was first elected, he sexually harassed, and intimidated them.

Halcovage has denied the accusations.

Halcovage, County Administrator Gary R. Bender, Risk Manager/Assistant County Solicitor Glenn T. Roth Jr., and the county are named in the suit. Also named is former human resources director Heidi L. Zula.

The women filed a second complaint on Oct. 29, 2021, contending they were retaliated against for filing the initial suit.

The women who filed the suits are identified only as Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, and Jane Doe 4.

However, two of the women’s names, those of Tax Claim Office Director Angela Toomey and her assistant Denise McGinley-Gerchak, were revealed to the public after they were accused of improperly using the county’s expensive software to search names, including those of public officials. Two attempts to fire them have failed.

Commissioners in September 2021 suspended them without pay and launched an investigation into the women’s alleged misuse of county software; the results have not been made public.

The women in November 2021 won the right to 26 weeks of unemployment compensation.

As the lawsuit wends its way through court, impeachment proceedings against Halcovage began in October. They have yet to resume so far this year.

The allegations against Halcovage came to light in 2020, when an investigation by the county Human Resources Department determined he violated the sexual harassment, conduct and disciplinary action, and the physical and verbal abuse policies - transgressions that would have gotten him fired had he been an employee, the report said.

The matter was sent to the state Office of the Attorney General, which did not file charges.