11 Sexual Harassment Settlements Cost the
State $5 Million
ALBANY — The state
paid out at least $5 million to settle sexual harassment cases from 2008 to
2010, according to newly released records provided by the New York attorney
general’s office under the Freedom of Information Law.
Five of the 11 cases involved a single agency, the State
Department of Corrections and Community Services, and three involved employees
of public universities. The largest settlement, nearly $1.8 million, came in
January 2009 after the state settled a nearly nine-year-old case involving
allegations brought by Lisa Borrello, a cook at the Lakeview Shock
Incarceration Correctional Facility. Ms. Borrello alleged that a supervisor
sexually harassed and physically threatened her, and gave favorable treatment
to male employees.
Scrutiny of the state’s handling of
sexual harassment allegations against public officials and workers has
increased since the Assembly acknowledged it had used more than $100,000 in
public money to settle two accusations against a prominent Brooklyn Democratic
assemblyman, Vito J.
Lopez.
The attorney general’s office said
the records it produced this week, all reflecting cases from the years when
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, was attorney general, represented only a
portion of the harassment settlements paid by the state; the office said it was
continuing to review its files for other records.
The Lopez settlement has been
controversial in part because it included confidentiality language intended to
keep the allegations secret. None of the settlements for which records were
released this week included confidentiality provisions, suggesting that the use
of such language is not common in government settlements, although the state
previously released documents indicating that in one racial bias case, Mr.
Cuomo’s office had approved a settlement with confidentiality language.
The Assembly speaker, Sheldon
Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, has said the confidentiality language in the
Lopez settlement was a mistake, and two separate investigations are now
examining the matter — one by the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics,
and another by a New York City district attorney.
The fact that a large employer like
New York State is paying out such settlements is not unusual.
Most of the cases for which records
were released on Thursday involved state employees making complaints about
other public workers. But in some cases, the alleged victims were not public
employees. In one case, Stephen Lewis, an inmate at Arthur Kill Correctional
Facility, sued in June 2008 after he said he was sexually assaulted by a guard.
Mr. Lewis initially sought $7 million; two years later, the state settled for
$300,000.
In both the Borrello and Lewis
settlements, the state agreed to pay the complainants’ legal fees.
Two other cases involved women
bringing claims against an official at the corrections department, Michael
Cobb. Both cases were settled in March 2008, for a total of about $1 million.
Mr. Cobb contributed $1,000 toward the settlement.
By DANNY HAKIM
Published: October 4,
2012
WHO : The state
WHAT : paid out at
least $5 million
WHY : to settle
sexual harassment cases from 2008 to 2010
WHEN : Albany
Element Of
Newsworthy : Human Interest
No comments:
Post a Comment