OLYMPIA, Wash. – A staff attorney for Washington state Senate Republicans has agreed to drop his $1.75 million hostile workplace claim – and will receive no damages. The agreement announced Friday follows allegations that Senate leaders failed to protect the lawyer from verbal abuse by Senator Pam Roach.
The settlement comes six months after attorney Mike Hoover put Senator Roach back in the headlines. Roach has long been a lightning rod and was formally sanctioned in 2010 for her abusive treatment of Hoover.
Last spring, Senate Republicans allowed Roach to rejoin their caucus just at the time they needed her vote to take over the Senate and pass a budget. Hoover, in his claim, said that was a political move that once again exposed him to Senator Roach on a daily basis.
Now though Hoover has agreed to drop his claim for damages. He will receive attorney’s fees and will leave his Senate job. In exchange, the Senate will designate two Senators as point people for personnel issues and reaffirm its sanctions against Roach.
Senator Roach is traveling out of the country but in a statement says she was personally defamed by Hoover and calls the accusations against her “outrageous.”
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network
