Defendants in a federal lawsuit accusing the director of Faulkner County's Office of Emergency Management of sexual harassment have argued that they worked to "prevent and correct promptly" any such behavior.
The defendants' attorneys with the Rainwater, Holt and Sexton law firm made the statement in a list of affirmative defenses cited in a recent document responding to the lawsuit, which was filed in late October against the county, director Shelia Bellott, County Judge Jim Baker and County Administrator Tom Anderson.
The defendants have asked for a jury trial in the lawsuit, which is pending in U.S. District Court in Little Rock.
Defense attorneys also suggested that the women alleging harassment -- Office of Emergency Management employees Julie Woodward and Mary Johnson -- also might bear some responsibility.
The defense document said, "Separate Faulkner County Defendants exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior and/or the Plaintiffs unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise."
The defense also said an investigation of the harassment allegations was conducted and that the county judge took corrective action, "including moving Defendant Bellott to other work locations."
Bellott was first told to work from home instead of the Emergency Management offices. Later, Baker assigned her to work in the county's old courthouse in downtown Conway. The employees she oversees remain in Emergency Management offices about 5 miles away.
County Attorney David Hogue has said he investigated and orally recommended that Bellott be fired. The county judge is the only one who can fire her, and Baker has chosen not to do so. The county's Quorum Court cannot fire her but can cut funding for her position if it chooses.
Former Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland, who has since become U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, also conducted a civil investigation of the allegations against Bellott at the Quorum Court's request. Neither Hiland nor Baker has made Hiland's findings public.
The defense also has argued in a court document that the plaintiffs have made no allegations against Baker or Anderson -- a statement the plaintiffs have disputed.
In a separate document, Woodward and Johnson's attorney, Thomas Mickel, wrote that the two women "were exposed to inappropriate behavior and conversations" by Bellott. Mickel wrote that Woodward and Johnson had "endured unwanted sexual comments from Defendant Bellott for many years, including sexual toys and other similar subjects."
After Woodward and Johnson filed written complaints with the county, an investigation followed.
"Defendant Bellott, with the apparent authority of Defendants Anderson and Baker, has continued to place tedious and harassing requirements on the Plaintiffs in retaliation [for] their written complaints," Mickel wrote.
Bellott and the other defendants also have argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed against all of them named in their individual capacities, "leaving only the claim against Faulkner County for further resolution," one of the documents filed recently said.
"In light of this result, the [plaintiffs'] claim for punitive damages must be dismissed, as Faulkner County is immune from punitive damages," the defense added.
Defense attorneys also contended the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim against the individual defendants.
"There is no basis for individual capacity liability as an 'employer' under Title VII or the Arkansas Civil Rights Act (ACRA) the only legal bases asserted" in the lawsuit, the defense said.
State Desk on 12/04/2017