EEOC clears Blevins of harassment complaint
by October 1, 2011 3:19 pm 74 views
Sebastian County Circuit Clerk Ken Blevins has won another victory in a series of sexual harassment allegations against him.
According to this report from KFSM 5 News, a content partner with The City Wire, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a report Friday (Sept. 30) saying it could not find where Blevins had violated harassment laws.
In the report, the EEOC states: “Based upon its investigation, the EEOC is unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of statutes. This does not certify that the respondent is in compliance with the statutes. No finding is made as to any other issues that might be construed as having been raised by this charge.”
In April, six employees of the Circuit Clerks office filed grievance hearing requests with Hudson in which they summarized several months of behavior from Blevins that included frequent inappropriate touching, frequent inappropriate comments of a sexual nature and retaliation against employees who complained.
On May 12, a three-member Sebastian County grievance committee ruled that Blevins sexually harassed office employees and created a hostile work environment. But the ruling was hollow in that the grievance committee has no enforcement power against an elected official.
Primary complainants in the case are Tyanna Caldwell, Jean Austin and Lynsey Shockley. Following the grievance hearing, Fort Smith attorney David Dunagin filed an action seeking the removal of Blevins from office.
The petition to remove Blevins was rejected during an Aug. 25 hearing. Judge Kirk Johnson of the 8th Judicial Circuit South from Texarkana dismissed the petition to remove Blevins saying by statute a citizen cannot have an elected official removed from office.
Dunagin and his clients have said they will pursue civil penalties against Blevins.
Blevins, a Republican, has drawn an opponent for the May GOP primary. Denora Coomer, a 28-year veteran of the Sebastian County court system, announced Aug. 17 she will run as a Republican for the Circuit Clerk post.