Two Maumelle city employees reached a $15,000 settlement with the city over sexual-harassment allegations against elected City Clerk/Treasurer Joshua Clausen, ending a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation.
The Maumelle City Council approved the $15,000 payment during its regular meeting Monday night after a resolution to authorize the payment was added to the council agenda and distributed to aldermen at the meeting. The council approved the resolution, 6-1, with Alderman Preston Lewis voting against it. Alderman Marc Kelley was absent.
Maumelle Mayor Mike Watson said Tuesday that the city's settlement was agreed to on Monday "after a long mediation process."
Watson previously had requested Clausen's resignation, he said Tuesday, after investigating the allegations, but Clausen refused. Clausen is in his third term after being re-elected without opposition in November. He lost a campaign for state representative in the 2012 election.
"I'm not aware of any way he can be forced out," Maumelle City Attorney Caleb Norris said. "The mayor can't fire him. The city has been in kind of a tight spot where it's walking with liability on both sides. This settlement, I think, was a positive resolution to it."
Clausen referred questions to his attorney, Bill James.
"The bottom line is he said he was disappointed that the city caved as they did," James said, adding that Clausen wasn't involved in the agreement that was reached. "Certainly we understand the city wants to limit its liability. Their settlement obviously creates an inference he did something wrong that he denies."
The women -- Human Resources Department specialist Reuah Hilton, and Senior Services director Nicole Heaps -- stated in EEOC complaints filed in January that they had been subjected to "unwanted and unsolicited sexual touching and comments" by Clausen in separate incidents in December. Each filed complaints after reporting the incidents to city Human Resources personnel.
"There was some inappropriate touching," said Mark Peoples, the attorney who represented both employees.
The two are identified in settlement documents released Tuesday through the Arkansas Municipal League under the state Freedom of Information Act. The Municipal League's Defense Program represented the city in the mediation process.
"I really, honestly, didn't want to file a complaint," Heaps said in a phone interview. "But, I thought I had to stand up for what was right and, hopefully, do something that could change the culture of what was happening to female employees within city departments.
"I love my job," added Heaps, who has been with the city for 14 years. "I really had to question myself before filing with the EEOC against the city because I didn't want to cause harm to the city. I just didn't feel like the city was taking care of its female employees. I didn't want it to continue, not with myself and not with anyone else."
Hilton said in emails Tuesday that she wasn't able to comment, referring questions to Peoples.
Hilton is to receive $3,750 in compensatory damages and Peoples will be paid $1,250 for attorney fees, for Hilton's part of the $15,000 settlement, according to the documents. The remaining $10,000 as Heaps' portion will be paid entirely to Peoples for attorney fees, Heaps said. Each woman also will have eight hours of paid leave restored, according to the documents.
Mediation is "fairly standard" in sexual-discrimination cases, Peoples said.
"Both parties did agree to mediate," Peoples said. "It's just an effort to try to work things out. Usually that's better for everybody if we can do that."
The agreement releases Clausen and the city from all claims, but doesn't prevent criminal charges from being pursued against Clausen by either employee. The city also must implement a written procedure that allows complaints by city employees against another employee or an elected official to be presented in writing to the director of Human Resources and kept by the city for three years.
Another city employee filed an age-discrimination complaint against Clausen and the city in September. That case is scheduled for trial in federal district court in December.
Metro on 05/06/2015