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Trumbull officials release report on harassment allegations
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
A 64-page report from an investigation into harassment allegations by Trish Nuskievicz, Trumbull County Planning Commission director, goes into exhaustive detail regarding the many conflicts among Nuskievicz and various officials.
It tries show why relationships between Nuskievicz and several elected officials soured in recent years – from disputes over subdivision regulations, removal of an important program her agency used to run, miscommunications and growing distrust.
But the report, funded by the county commissioners after Nuskievicz went on sick leave in July while alleging she had been harassed by county Engineer Randy Smith and his associates, does not definitely answer the question of whether she has a legitimate claim of mistreatment.
The report, written by Atty. Kimberly Riley, does knock holes in Nuskievicz’s allegation that Commissioner Frank Fuda had behaved illegally toward her. She alleged Fuda had asked a planning commission board member whether Nuskievicz “only hired female candidates.”
Nuskievicz said she “took that to be a discriminatory comment because I am a married, gay woman.”
But Riley could not find confirmation that the remark was said.
“Nuskievicz’s primary claims of sex- or sexual-orientation discrimination against Commissioner Fuda related to him raising his voice when speaking to her, which she said he began doing since she became assistant director in 2008,” the report says.
A number of witnesses have described Fuda as speaking loudly to them, “especially when frustrated with their work performance,” the report says. But “his manner [with Nuskievicz] is not distinguishable from his interactions with [people] of every gender and sexual orientation,” Riley said.
The report addresses Nuskievicz’s allegations that Fuda and/or Smith have made efforts to replace planning commission board members with new ones who would be “more antagonistic toward” Nuskievicz and more aligned with Smith’s criticisms of Nuskievicz.
But the report says as director, Nuskievicz “serves at the pleasure of” the planning commission board, and the board is appointed by the county commissioners. Ohio law “to some degree” recognizes that board members will “assume the priorities of the commissioners,” Riley said. That is allowable unless those priorities “run contrary to law,” such as terminating someone for discriminatory reasons, she said.
Richard Jackson, county human-resources director, said an invoice has not been received for Riley’s work. Nuskievicz could not be reached, and Fuda said he had not read the entire report but would comment later.