The former Schuylkill County official whose investigation found a former county commissioner harassed and abused female employees wants compensation dating back more than four years.
In a federal lawsuit, Deborah Twigg, of Schuylkill Haven, says the county owes her money because of the way she was treated as human resources director.
She resigned that job Sept. 4, 2020, to avoid doing anything “illegal, unethical or immoral” and because she was undermined, intimidated and manipulated after investigating Commissioner George Halcovage’s behavior against four women, according to the lawsuit.
Filed Nov. 6 in federal court, the names the county, its administrator Gary Bender, Hubric Resources, company founder Thomas Hubric and Doreen Kutzler as defendants. Hubric provides human resources consulting services. Kutzler, as a Hubric employee, was the county HR director, the suit says.
Twigg sued after trying unsuccessfully to get an interview for her old job last year.
Twigg wants the county to:
- Come up with a policy prohibiting sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation against employees.
- Compensate her for all the pay and benefits she would have received if she had not resigned.
- Pay her actual damages for pain, suffering and humiliation.
- Pay her punitive damages as punishment for “willful, deliberate, malicious and outrageous conduct.”
She does not specifically ask for her job back.
Twigg started working for the county on Jan. 8, 2018. Her investigation led to a finding that Halcovage violated the county’s policies governing sexual harassment, conduct and disciplinary action and physical and verbal abuse, according to a June 2020 county news release.
Both of his commissioner colleagues and others called on Halcovage to resign, which he refused to do. A county judge issued protection from sexual violence orders against Halcovage, the sheriff restricted his access to the county building and the state House considered impeaching him.
In January 2023, the county agreed to a consent decree to end a U.S. Department of Justice investigation. The decree requires tough anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies.
Twigg testified before a state House committee and for 13 hours in depositions for the women's suit against the county.
A month after the consent decree, Twigg applied for her former job, thinking the decree would protect her “from the unchecked discrimination and retaliation she had witnessed and experienced” just before she resigned, the suit says.
She applied because she thought she “could make a difference.” A month later, she received an email saying she would not get an interview.
Because she previously did the job well, her investigation and testimonies are “the only logical basis” for retaliating and not granting her an interview, the suit alleges. She complained to the Department of Justice, which helped her get an interview with the county’s newly hired equal employment opportunity officer. In June 2023, the officer, attorney Denise Elliott, wrote she found no evidence of “retaliatory intent,” according to Twigg's suit.
Hubric, not the county or Bender, decided who received interviews, Elliott wrote. The suit accuses Bender of knowing Twigg applied and either blocking the interview or supporting the decision not to grant one.
Halcovage, a 2018 congressional candidate, has never publicly addressed the women’s allegations, but the June 2020 county news release said he denied “many” without detailing them. After winning commissioner elections in 2011, 2015 and 2019 -- before the harassment allegations emerged -- he sought a fourth term but lost the May 2023 primary election.
Four female county employees, identified only as Jane Does, sued the county, Halcovage, Bender and county solicitor Glenn Roth in March 2021.
They accuse Halcovage of long-term sexual harassment, including telling one woman he liked the way a “freeze pop” looked in her mouth. Their suit says that and similar comments constitute “by no means an exhaustive list.” They argue Bender and Roth ignored complaints about Halcovage’s behavior.
Two women contend he required them to switch to their voter registration to the Republican Party if they wanted raises or promotions and asked them to work on his elections. They did that did because they feared losing their jobs, they contend.
The county is denying the allegations. The suit remains pending in federal court with a trial scheduled for March 24.
