Doe v. Schuylkill County

U.S. District Court • Middle District of Pennsylvania

Civil Complaint

Filed Sept. 24, 2026•Scranton•Jury Demanded

Case Status: Complaint Filed

Plaintiff: Jane Doe 5Suing under a pseudonym
Plaintiff’s Counsel: Catherine W. LowryDerek Smith Law Group, Philadelphia
Claims Under: Title VII and the PHRAPennsylvania Human Relations Act
Earlier Jane Doe Case: The 2021 Jane Doe lawsuitFour county employees sued in 2021; consent decree entered Jan. 17, 2023
Work at Issue: Courthouse cleaning contractJan. 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023

Plaintiff

Jane Doe 5Cleaned the courthouse for a county contractor, including the Commissioners’ Suite

Defendants

George HalcovageCounty commissioner, sued in his individual capacity
GBGary BenderCounty administrator, sued in his individual capacity
AKAnthony KernHuman resources director, sued in his individual capacity
EGElaine GilbertEqual employment opportunity officer, sued in her individual capacity
Schuylkill CountyNamed as her employer or joint employer

Halcovage, whom the county found in 2020 had violated its sexual harassment policy, commented on her appearance, contacted her on Snapchat and asked her to send him photographs.
He told her to put a sound bar in her bra in front of him and, on another occasion, touched her between her legs while she held open a trash bag for him.
A federal consent decree barred him from the courthouse after 5 p.m. He was there with her after hours anyway, and Kern and Bender never reported it.
Nineteen days after she reported him, the county rejected her employer’s cleaning bid and gave the contract to another company, ending her work there.

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