A former Schuylkill County government Human Resources Director has filed a lawsuit against the County, its Administrator, and a third-party HR firm it has used often in recent years – including the company’s president and a temporary HR Director assigned by the company to serve with the County – claiming she was passed over for the open HR Director’s job last year because of her previous role in the investigation against former Commissioner George Halcovage.
Deborah Twigg filed the lawsuit earlier this month in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She names the County, Wyomissing-based Hubric Resources, President Thomas Hubric, former HR Director Doreen Kutzler, and County Administrator Gary Bender as Defendants.
Twigg’s lawsuit claims that her role in the 2021 federal civil lawsuit against Halcovage – filed by four Jane Doe plaintiffs – is the reason she was passed over for the HR Director’s job in 2023, not because she wasn’t qualified.
She says her sworn deposition testimony painted the Jane Doe plaintiffs in a positive light and “exposed Schuylkill County and the named invidividual defendants, including Defendant Bender and Defendant Kutzler to civil liability.”
Twigg was the HR Director from Jan. 8, 2018, until Sept. 4, 2020. She led the internal investigation against former County Commissioner George Halcovage, who had been accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by multiple female County employees. That investigation began in May 2020 and concluded on June 24 of that year. A week later, the County – namely then-Solicitor Glenn Roth – issued a press release detailing the results of that investigation.
On Aug. 12, 2020, Twigg informed the County that she’d be resiging from her position as HR Director, effective Sept. 4. In a resignation letter, Twigg wrote, “There was a time when I loved coming to work here at the Courthouse. I have stated from my first interview that I would not do anything that was illegal, unethical or immoral. I have also stated from the beginning of my employment ‘just do the right thing’. Over the past two months, I have dreaded coming to work almost every day. It is clear that my HR philosophy is different from the ruling majority at Schuylkill Cuonty. Because I have not waivered in my principles, philosophy and/or beliefs, I have suffered instances of undermining, intimidation, and manipulation.”
In her lawsuit, Twigg says she was “lauded as the best HR Director in 40 years” and that her “performance, integrity, and professionalism” hadn’t been questioned.
In the lawsuit, Twigg claims she was told of the open position by County Commissioner Gary Hess in February 2023. At that time, Twigg says she was looking for a job and believed that the “ongoing Halcovage litigation and the Dept. of Justice Consent Decree would provide protection from the unchecked discrimination and retaliation she had witnessed and experienced in the months leading up to her resignation in 2020. The County eventually hired Anthony Kern, who currently holds the job.
“Ms. Twigg believed the environment would be different than when she resigned in 2020, and she wanted to go back because she felt she could make a difference in Schuylkill County,” the lawsuit reads.
Believing that things would be different, Twigg says she reapplied for the job, submitting her resume to Ann Kraft, a County HR officer, on Feb. 28. Kraft then allegedly sent Twigg’s resume to Bender along with five other resumes, the lawsuit states, because Bender wanted to see all the resumes right away.
Days later, Kraft allegedly told Twigg that she had to also submit her resume through Indeed.com, where the County often posts open jobs. Twigg says that on the Indeed.com job posting that the HR Director reports directly to the County Administrator, Bender. Twigg then submitted her resume through Indeed.com on March 7. A day later, she received a notification that her resume had been viewed.
On March 20, Twigg said she received an email that read, “Your skills and qualifications have been reviewed and you have not been selected for an interview.” Twigg says she was “objectively qualified” for the job at the County because she previously held it for about 3 years and that she has more than 30 years of experience in human resources.
“Ms. Twigg’s protected activity is the only logical basis for the decision to not even select Ms. Twigg for an interview,” the lawsuit states. “The retaliatory motivation is readily apparent from the fact that Defendants had declined to even interview Ms. Twigg for a position she had already held and excelled in for nearly 3 years.”
A day after receiving that email, Twigg says she filed a formal complaint to Justice Dept. attorneys Amber Fox and Allan Townsend, alleging that her not being selected for an interview was “retalitation for her participation in the Halcovage litigation.” She requested a DOJ investigation pursuant to the Consent Decree the agency had imposed on the County as part of its settlement with the Courthouse.
In June 2023, Twigg says she received word that an internal investigation into her claims found “There is no evidence to support a finding of retaliatory intent in the decision” not to interview her. The DOJ said that that decision was made by Hubric Resources and not the County or Bender, which had hired Hubric to provide HR services at the Courthouse in the absence of a full-time HR Director. Kutzler served in that role via Hubric.
Twigg alleges that Bender knew she applied for the open HR Director job last year and either “directed or ratified the decision” to reject her application without conducting an interview.
She also alleges that Hubric, based on the DOJ’s investigation report, consulted with an attorney when reviewing resumes and believes that attorney was former County Soicitor Al Marshall.
Twigg is seeking relief on claims that her Title VII civil rights were violated by being passed over for the open HR job, specifically because she didn’t get an interview. She says that her activity while on the job during the initial stages of the Halcovage investigation were protected by Title VII. She said Bender, Hubric, and Kutzler, along with the County and Hubric Resources, and shouldn’t be held against her as she sought to get her old job back.
Her lawsuit also claims that the defendants also violated the state’s Human Relations act. Twigg is currently seeking a jury trial in this case.
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