The federal lawsuit against former Schuylkill County commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. has been settled, the present commissioners said Wednesday.

Four female county employees accused Halcovage of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and sued Halcovage, the county and other defendants almost four years ago to the day.

At their weekly meeting, the present Commissioner Chairman Larry Padora read a prepared statement.

Padora said a pretrial conference, which included mediation, resulted in a settlement of the case — just before it to go to trial on Monday.

“As a result of the mediation, the parties reached a settlement of all claims of the remaining doe plaintiffs,” Padora said.

Federal Judge Daryl F. Bloom entered an order closing the case, and ordering the parties to file a stipulation of dismissal within 60 days.

“Attorneys for both parties are actively finalizing documents of settlement which will be concluded soon,” Padora said. “When that documentation has been completed and signed by the plaintiffs, appropriate action will be taken by the board (of commissioners) at a public meeting and will include details of the settlement.”

Until that happens, Padora said the commissioners will have no further comment on the matter.

Last April, the lawsuit of one of four women who sued Schuylkill County over sexual allegations regarding Halcovage was settled.

The commissioners voted unanimously to settle the lawsuit with Jane Doe 1, which includes mutual release and the payment of $1.7 million, allocated $983,649.33 to Jane Doe 1, $716,350.07 to her attorneys Catherine W. Lowry

and the Derek Smith Law Group, with $1.5 million paid by the county’s insurance carriers and $200,000 paid by the county.

Padora read from a prepared statement he said would be the county’s only comment on the suit.

“The county took action today to approve the settlement with Jane Doe 1 from the pending federal litigation. We recognize that the settlement includes payment of $200,000 by the county to the attorney representing Jane Doe 1,” he read at that meeting. “After consultation with the attorneys representing the county in the litigation, our county solicitors, the Commissioners firmly believe this settlement is in the best interest of Schuylkill County.

“Although the settlement with Jane Doe 1 addresses the significant aspect of the litigation, the case remains pending as to remaining plaintiffs, so we will have no further comment on the settlement of the pending litigation at this time.”

Four female employees identified as “Jane Does” filed the federal lawsuit in 2021, saying Halcovage subjected them to unwanted advances for years.

They further claimed that after they complained, they faced retaliation from supervisors and the county government, including human resources directors.

The women said Halcovage harassed them from the time he was elected in 2012. He sought reelection in 2023 but lost in the primary.

In July 2023, the Pennsylvania House considered reauthorizing an investigation to determine whether to pursue the impeachment of Halcovage for alleged sexual misconduct.

In 2020, Halcovage was found to have violated three county policies concerning sexual-harassment, conduct and disciplinary action, and physical and verbal abuse, by its Human Resources Department.

In October 2021, the women filed an addendum to the lawsuit saying they were retaliated and discriminated against for filing the first suit.

In September 2021, two of the women were idemoted and suspended without pay for allegedly doing unauthorized searches of people using county software.

The county hired the Harrisburg law firm of Eckerd Seamans to conduct an investigation, the results of which have never been made public.

Two attempts to fire them failed. They subsequently received unemployment compensation for 26 weeks.