CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) - St. Louis County has paid $60,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint filed against St. Louis County Councilman Ernie Trakas.
Trakas’ former assistant, Annette Read, filed a complaint with the county’s personnel office in August but the details were not made public. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch learned about the settlement from a public records request.
The settlement’s terms prohibited Read and Trakas, a Republican from Oakville, from discussing it, the newspaper reported.
Lawyers hired by the county cleared Trakas of wrongdoing in November. The investigators said they did find employees who thought Trakas’ communications were harsh and encouraged him to maintain a professional environment that respected all employees.
Trakas has previously said he told Read last summer that he was firing her because he “wasn’t satisfied with her performance.”
Read worked for Trakas for about a year until her employment ended Nov. 1. She was on administrative leave since making her complaint on Aug. 19.
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