Schuylkill County Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. has complied with a federal judge’s order to attest that he did indeed read and understand rules governing disclosure concerning an ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit.

U.S. District Court Judge Martin C. Carlson last Monday granted a motion by the attorney for four women who filed the lawsuit that Halcovage be sanctioned for contempt for disclosing information to another person not involved in the case despite the judge’s order not to.

“I have read, understand, and agree to comply with all court orders in this case. I acknowledge that failures to comply with court orders may result in additional sanctions against me,” the document states.

Halcovage signed and filed it on Tuesday - 13 days before the judge’s deadline of April 17.

Carlson’s April 3 order included: that Halcovage read and confirm that he understands the rules; that any discovery materials are not to be disclosed; an admonition to Halcovage that his assertion that he didn’t “explicitly reference” the materials is not a viable defense of his actions; advice that Halcovage should always err of the side of treating material connected to the lawsuit as confidential; and that if he has any questions whether it would be appropriate to share the information with another person, he should ask his lawyer.

The four women’s lawyer, Catherine W. Smith of Philadelphia, asked Carlson to impose the sanctions after learning that Halcovage on Jan. 20 violated the judge’s Nov. 12, 2021, discovery confidentially order by approaching a former county employee and discussing deposition testimony details and identifying one of the women.

In the lawsuit, filed in March 2021, the women are identified only as Jane Doe 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Halcovage divulged parts of Jane Doe 3’s deposition testimony to the former employee despite it being covered by the confidentially order, Smith wrote in her request for sanctions.

Halcovage initiated a discussion with the former employee “concerning alleged misuse of county supplies by Halcovage, a matter that was addressed and cloaked in confidentiality during the deposition of Jane Doe 3,” Carlson wrote.

Halcovage was questioned about the incident during a Feb. 7 deposition. He testified that the deposition of Jane Doe 3 “piqued” his interest, and that’s why he approached the former employee.

The former employee last worked for the county in January 2013.

“Halcovage seemingly suggested that his conduct was entirely appropriate because ‘I did not talk deposition testimony. I talked to him about - that - was there a concern when he was there that I had used things for personal use in my insurance business’,” Carlson wrote.

The judge scoffed at Halcovage’s defense of his disclosure.

“We categorically reject the notion advanced by Halcovage in his deposition that he should somehow be absolved from any responsibility for violating this order through the simple expedient refraining from explicitly mentioning the fact that the source of this information was a protected deposition.

“In our view, Halcovage’s claimed distinction between disclosing the contents of a deposition and further revealing the fact that the information came from a deposition is metaphysical, meaningless, and approaches mendacity,” Carlson wrote.

“It strains credulity to believe that an individual of Halcovage’s intelligence and sophistication would not have recognized the highly problematic nature of this conduct. Rather, the reasonable inference which flows from Halcovage’s own conduct and testimony on this score is that the defendant believed he had found some clever means of evading and avoiding this court’s order,” the judge wrote.

“On this score Halcovage was simply wrong. The law does not tolerate or condone such cynicism,” Carlson wrote.

The women’s lawsuit contends Halcovage sexually harassed them beginning from when he was first elected in 2012.

The suit was expanded in October 2021 to allege the women were retaliated against for bringing the initial suit. In the expansion, they contend that Halcovage and other county officials demoted them, tried to fire them, and suspended them from their jobs without pay.

Two of them have been suspended without pay since September.

Halcovage has denied the accusations.