Wednesday, December 27, 2000
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Wednesday, December 27, 2000 |
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Bryant denies sexual harassment charges
By JOHN MUNFORD
In court documents filed recently, former Fayetteville City Manager Mike Bryant denies that he sexually harassed two city employees "or anyone else." Bryant has also filed a counterclaim against former Main Street director Sherri Anderson and current city employee Amanda Jones, who are suing him for sexual harassment. Bryant claims the two have engaged in libel and slander against him through statements they have made and letters they have written which were published in this newspaper in February. The actions of Anderson and Jones have hurt his reputation and caused him to lose a job offer as the executive director of public works for Sarasota County, Fla., Bryant claims. He is seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages if the court rules in his favor. Anderson and Jones filed the suit earlier this year contending they were retaliated against after making claims they were sexually harassed by Bryant. They claimed that Bryant "would initiate conversations of a sexual and personal nature" with Anderson and that both she and Jones were rebuked for their claims. The suit claims that the city didn't take immediate action once it learned of sexual harassment claims against Bryant. In documents he filed with the U.S District Court's Newnan Division, Bryant denied that he sexually harassed either woman. He was placed on paid administrative leave in January and he later resigned in February. Anderson resigned from her position in August, claiming that she was suffering health problems from stress. The city and Morton claim that any actions taken against Anderson and Jones were for "legitimate, non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory reasons." If any employee was sexually harassed by Bryant, those actions were outside the scope of Bryant's employment, the answer states. The city and Morton "exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly unlawfully harassing behavior," the answer states. The city and Morton also said that Anderson and Jones should have reported the incident. Bryant said in his response to the suit that he was a "strong supporter of his female staff members" and pointed out that he established an equal pay for equal position policy when he joined the city.
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