Office of Emergency Management Lawsuit
Over a year has passed since all four Faulkner County OEM employees filed formal complaints of sexual harassment and personal use of government property against Shelia Bellott, long-time OEM Director. Now over the matter.
This as-yet unresolved situation left the critical OEM office short-staffed (because four of the affected employees resigned) and has exposed the county to ongoing legal fees. Plus — should Faulkner County lose the suit — we could face financial consequences that could seriously harm our already-tight county budget.
The timing of the jury trial affects the 2019 budget planning process. As of mid-July, 2018 the jury trial is set for late November in Judge James Moody’s court.
Background
May, 2017:
Taxpayers first learned last summer that four OEM employees had filed complaints with County Judge Jim Baker in May, 2017. They accused Shelia Bellott, the OEM Director for over 10 years, of years of sexual harassment. Their complaints stated that they’d been afraid to come forward all those years. The county attorney had investigated, and said later that he had orally recommended that Baker fire Bellott.
Against the county attorney’s recommendation, Judge Baker chose to physically move Bellott to work in another building. Even though she was physically removed from the OEM staff, as of publication date she still serves as OEM Director.
July, 2017:
The four employees filed their complaints with the Quorum Court. The Quorum Court then appointed the then-Prosecuting Attorney to act as a special county attorney for a civil investigation. The matter became public knowledge.
At that time, two of the four employees also filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), who have apparently investigated the alleged incidents. The Prosecuting Attorney’s report, made public later, also concluded that Ballot should have been fired after the initial complaints.
Federal Lawsuit
October, 2017:
Two employees filed a federal lawsuit against Bellott, County Judge Baker, and county administrator Tom Anderson, both personally and in their official capacities. Faulkner County is represented by Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, a law firm that represents various other Arkansas counties.
January, 2018:
Quorum Court member John Pickett said he was unaware of the OEM staff resignations that had left only one OEM employee still working.
February, 2018:
Judge Moody dismissed federal and state civil rights claims against Bellott, Baker, and Anderson as individuals, but not in their official capacities.
July, 2018:
One of the two remaining plaintiffs withdrew from the suit.
August, 2018:
Faulkner County requested the suit be dismissed and said “corrective action was taken by the County Judge, including, but not limited to moving Defendant Bellott to other work locations.” The response did not specify the other actions taken.
Summary & Conclusion
We’ve examined the timeline and Faulkner County’s fairly recent policies on sexual harassment. Our Summary & Conclusions are here.
