O.C. Workers to Get Sex Harassment Information

Grappling with sexual harassment allegations made against a third top manager, county officials said Thursday that they will mail copies of guidelines on the subject to all 14,000 employees in their next paychecks.

The move comes as the county investigates accusations against Kenneth Clark, the administrative director of the Social Services Agency, according to several sources.

Clark, who has worked for the agency for more than a decade, recently was placed on leave while the allegations are examined, the sources said.

Last month, Assistant Sheriff Dennis LaDucer was placed on administrative leave after Sheriff’s Lt. Wendy Costello filed a complaint accusing him of making inappropriate comments and groping her and other female employees.

Health Care Agency Director Tom Uram is named in a sexual harassment suit brought by former county Finance Director Eileen Walsh, who contends that Uram repeatedly made off-color remarks about women and treated female employees unfairly. Uram has denied any wrongdoing, and the case is scheduled to go to trial soon.

County officials did not specifically address the cases in the guidelines employees will receive. But they said it is a “good time” to provide the information.

“There are a lot of things going on both on the national level and local level that have drawn attention,” said county spokeswoman Diane Thomas. “It’s a good excuse to remind people of this. We have an ongoing responsibility to remind our employees about the sensitivity of the issue.”

The guidelines state that all county employees should refrain from “making unwanted sexual advances” or creating an “intimidating, hostile and offensive” work environment. The policy also states that people who think they’ve been sexually harassed should report the incident immediately to a supervisor or the equal employment opportunity access office.

Thomas declined to provide any details about the Clark case.

“The county has overriding responsibility to protect the confidentiality of all personnel,” she said. “Therefore, we don’t address personnel issues involving any employees.”

The county placed LaDucer on leave in late May after receiving a letter from Costello detailing her allegations.

LaDucer has declined to comment on the allegations.