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Schuylkill County Me Too

Women Claiming to be Courthouse Employees Say They Don’t Feel Safe at Work

schuylkill county employees feel unsafe

schuylkill county employees feel unsafe

Several women claiming to be Schuylkill County Courthouse employees say they don’t feel safe at work. That is, they don’t feel safe with Commissioner George Halcovage in the building.

During last week’s Schuylkill County Commissioners meeting, several women called in to speak during the Public Comment segment. At least 5 women called in to the meeting and said they don’t feel safe working at the Courthouse.

However, the women didn’t identify themselves. They all called in to the meeting’s teleconference session and spoke up during the second Public Comment portion of the meeting, near the adjournment.

People speaking at a public municipal meeting – including normally at Schuylkill County Commissioners meetings – are generally required to identify themselves by name and place of residence. That’s a little harder to police when meetings are held virtually, of course. But on Wednesday, the women speaking up against Halcovage said they feared retribution if they gave their names.

No one said anything to object to this abnormality, so they went on.

One caller said she didn’t want to turn up for work with Halcovage in the building at the same time.

“I will not be the next victim,” she said.

An internal investigation at the Courthouse found Halcovage violated 3 different workplace policies, including one on sexual harassment. An inquiry into possible criminal wrongdoing has been passed on to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

“We Need to Take This Guy Down!”

In the meantime, it appears will be hearing more stories like we did on Wednesday.

Since news of the accusations against Halcovage first broke a couple weeks ago, we’ve heard from several women who say they’ve been victims of Halcovage’s alleged workplace behavior in the past.

And the investigation that led us to this point now was prompted by more recent allegations against the Commissioner.

Calls have come from inside the Schuylkill County Courthouse to get Halcovage out of the building during working hours since he’s refused to resign, despite repeated calls for that, too.

Schuylkill Clerk of Courts says Halcovage “prowls” the hallways at the Courthouse looking for his next victim. At this same meeting, we also learned that Halcovage is basically confined to this office space within the Courthouse, only allowed out for bathroom breaks.

Halcovage denies the accusations against him.

Another woman on Wednesday who also claimed to be a courthouse employee asked if she’ll get paid if she doesn’t feel safe at work (with Halcovage there, too).

And another woman said, “We need to get this going and take this guy down!”

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. PTFloridians

    July 12, 2020 at 10:43 am

    Its all a coordinated shakedown. There’s NO WAY, with all the cameras, whistleblowers, squealers, and good old fashioned self policing, that people that work there, are afraid of anything. The real threat, moving forward, is still terrorist and anarchist organizations and spin offs…let’s not lose sight off that.
    …go to work, do your job, and watch out for one another, like the good ol days.

    • Tweener

      July 12, 2020 at 7:47 pm

      Thanks for warning us about the terrorists and anarchists in the courthouse.Are you the Schuylkill County Watchdog from Florida?LOL.Is there also an anti-Christ hiding in the courthouse?

      • PTFloridians

        July 12, 2020 at 8:06 pm

        …Just hoping this woke mob/me too mentality doesnt stray our focus from the real dangers of our day. Doesn’t matter if it’s rinky dink lil Skook or Manhattan…these crybabies, vandals, anarchists and the like just don’t stop.
        …i worked for the State of PA for decades, the ones you need to keep an eye on, are who you think are friendly…they’re the sneaks and backstabbers. Every County, State and Federal job environment is filled with power mad narcissists

  2. StopSchuykillCountyIncompetance

    July 13, 2020 at 12:17 am

    I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve yet to read any specific allegations that would rise to a level in which a normal reasonable person would fear being in the same building with Commissioner Halcovage. And the anonymous woman who asked if she will still get paid even though she is so fearful of being the “next victim,” she should be laid off or fired. She doesn’t want to go to work but want Schuylkill County taxpayers to still pay her because she’s obviously jumping on the bandwagon to take advantage of this most likely witch-hunt. I swear, some people are wackos!

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