A new lawsuit filed against Thurston County alleges Commissioner Emily Clouse sexually harassed and retaliated against her former executive aide.
The lawsuit was filed in Thurston County Superior Court on Wednesday. A copy of the complaint document details the accusations against the county and calls for a judge to award the aide damages specified during a trial and pay for his attorney fees.
Attorneys for the aide filed the lawsuit two months after submitting a tort claim for damages to the county that made similar accusations and asked for $750,000. Such claims against a government agency can only be escalated to a lawsuit after a 60-day waiting period when negotiations may take place, according to state law.
Edward Earl Younglove III and Lisa M. Wood of Younglove, Corker and Rhode, an Olympia law firm, represent Clouse's former executive aide and signed the complaint.
"Unfortunately, the County has been unwilling or unable to meet its legal obligations to our client," Younglove said in a brief statement to The Olympian.
This lawsuit is the latest development after months of controversy surrounding Clouse. Three of her seatmates voted to suspend her from some of her duties on Aug. 13 while the county investigated a workplace dating relationship between her and the aide.
Since then, Clouse has remained a voting member on the Board of County Commissioners, the body she was elected to, but she cannot represent the county on regional boards and committees she was appointed to.
Clouse's seatmates promised on Sept. 6 to release a report about the investigation into Clouse's behavior, but the county has yet to share that report with the public. Last week, Clouse tried and failed to get herself reinstated to her appointments.
Thurston County received a copy of the lawsuit and started reviewing it Wednesday, said Tara Tsehlana, a spokesperson for the county's Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
"Due to pending litigation, the county is unable to provide further comment at this time," Tsehlana said.
The lawsuit is directed at the county rather than Clouse specifically. Still, The Olympian reached out to Maia Robbins, Clouse's attorney, for comment. She disputed the allegations in the lawsuit and said Clouse will continue to focus on "working hard for her constituents."
"The act of filing a lawsuit doesn't turn fiction into fact," Robbins said. "The allegations in the complaint are absurd on their face and have already been dispelled by an internal workplace investigation. Commissioner Clouse looks forward to the factfinder(s) reaching the same conclusion in court."
What does the complaint say?
In the complaint, the attorneys accuse Clouse of creating a hostile work environment and engaging in quid pro quo discrimination on the basis of sex. Both claims are forms of sexual harassment that are legally recognized under Washington State Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60).
The complaint contends Clouse made sexual advances toward her aide that led to a "mutually consensual dating relationship." However, the complaint indicates the aide felt he was in no position to reject her advances and he found his relationship with her "increasingly unwelcome."
"It was clear to the Plaintiff, however, that if the Plaintiff wanted to remain employed, he would need to continue his personal intimate relationship of a sexual nature with Commissioner Clouse," the complaint reads.
These accusations mirror ones made in a Sept. 5 letter the aide's attorneys sent to the county. That later accused Clouse of engaging in a pattern of abusive, unwelcome and sexual behavior that was enabled by a power imbalance between the pair.
The complaint also alleges Clouse required the aide to fulfill personal and unreasonable work demands, such as driving her places, buying her food and drinks, and making personal loans which she did not repay.
Furthermore, the attorneys accuse Clouse of retaliating against the aide on July 29 by attempting to fire him about 30 minutes after he reported to the county's Human Resources department that he was being harassed.
The complaint indicates Clouse had accused the aide of sexually assaulting her, but she later retracted that claim during the county's workplace investigation.
The lawsuit also accuses the county of illegally attempting to suppress the aide's complaints.
The complaint indicates county officials asked the aide what amount of money would make "this" go away on July 29, which he understood as an attempt to make him keep quiet about his allegations.
The aide was placed on administrative leave instead of being fired. That put him in a position where he appeared "guilty of wrongdoing," according to the complaint.
All these actions, the attorneys contend, have caused the aide "prolonged stress, physical harm, emotional distress, embarrassment, trauma and humiliation."
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