This year saw the federal sexual harassment lawsuit against Schuylkill County Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. continuing to wend its way through court.

The suit was filed on March 16, 2021 in U.S. District Court, Scranton, by four women who work at the courthouse.

They are identified in the suit as Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, and Jane Doe 4.

They contend that beginning in 2012, the year Halcovage was first elected, he sexually harassed and intimidated them.

They filed a second complaint on Oct. 29, 2021, contending they were retaliated against for filing the initial suit, including being demoted and suspended.

Halcovage has denied the accusations.

Named in the suit are the county, Halcovage, County Administrator Gary Bender, Risk Manager/Assistant County Solicitor Glenn T. Roth Jr., and former human resources directors Doreen Kutzler and Heidi L. Zula.

Earlier this month, Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson allowed a request by the U.S. Department of Justice, which joined the suit in May, to request a settlement conference.

The request was signed by Karen D. Woodard, Chief Employment Litigation Section; Allan K. Townsend and Amber Trzinski Fox, Senior Trial Attorneys, Employment Litigation Section; and Marie Milie Jones, counsel for defendants Schuylkill County, Bender and Zula.

The allegations against Halcovage came to light in 2020, when an investigation by the county Human Resources Department determined Halcovage 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.

As the lawsuit continues, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts is considering whether to recommend Halcovage be impeached. The subcommittee met in October, and will resume its meetings again in 2023.

In September, it voted 5-1 to send a criminal referral to the state Office of the Attorney General, which has yet to release a determination.