An Alabama sheriff who ignored complaints from female corrections officers about rampant sexual harassment at a county jail has reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch will pay $2.02 million into a settlement fund that will be used to compensate the victims. The agreement also requires the sheriff to develop a comprehensive inmate sexual misconduct policy; train all jail employees on the new policy related to inmate sexual misconduct; maintain a dedicated housing area to house inmates found guilty of sexual misconduct; and appoint an Inmate Sexual Misconduct Disciplinary Hearing Officer to monitor and track compliance with the new inmate sexual misconduct policy.
The lawsuit against Burch alleges that male inmates harassed female employees assigned to the jail’s housing units by frequently exposing their genitals to and masturbating at them, and that inmates also directed sexual slurs, sexual propositions, threats of sexual violence and sexually degrading comments toward female employees.
“Employers must take appropriate action to protect their employees from sexual harassment in the workplace,” said Kristen Clarke, an Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Just like any other workplace, jails must take steps necessary to ensure that female employees are not subject to a sexually hostile work environment in any form.”
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Chris Graham
