Before the recent spate of sexual harassment claims in Hollywood, New York and Washington, D.C., there was a lawsuit filed by a female attorney for the Louisiana Department of Health against the agency’s general counsel.
That lawsuit, filed in June 2014 by Bethany Gauthreaux, a $42,500 per year attorney for LDH, against LDH and its $100,000-per-year Attorney Supervisor Weldon Hill, was quietly settled in May 2017.
The matter was settled for only $40,000—far less than it probably should have been, given the circumstances of the treatment undergone by Gauthreaux, according to a former associate who said Gauthreaux told her at the time that she just wanted the entire matter to be over and done.
Even then, that might have been end of it all had not Hill and Executive Counsel Stephen Russo continued the intimidation and humiliation of Gauthreaux after she complained about Hill—to his supervisor and to LDH Human Resources—treatment that continued until her eventual resignation in May 2015.
Moved to Storage Room
The former associate who asked that she not be identified because she still works for the state—but in a different agency now—said Gauthreaux was moved from her eighth-floor office to a converted storage room on the fifth floor. She was not provided a telephone in her new location nor was she allowed to take her computer with her. Two other female employees were also moved from eighth to fifth floor but both took their computers with them to their new offices.
Meanwhile, Hill and the two attorneys over him who protected him, continued to receive pay increases.
“I would go into the restroom and find Bethany crying,” the former associate said. “I asked her what was wrong and she said, ‘Weldon Hill won’t stop.’”
Hill, Gauthreaux’s lawsuit said, would ask her highly personal questions following the birth of her child, questions about how it felt to pump breast milk. He also would position himself behind her chair and press his body against hers as he monitored her computer screen, sometimes, placing his hand on hers on the computer mouse, the petition said.
The former associate said that in addition to Gauthreaux, there were at least four other women who were intimidated, harassed, and mistreated by Hill and Russo, who, as Hill’s direct supervisor and the department’s hiring authority, appeared to be protecting Hill. “They totally ostracized Bethany after she complained to Russo,” she said. “She finally said she couldn’t take it anymore and quit.”
‘Women have nothing to say’
“Weldon does not listen to women,” she said. “He said women ‘have nothing to say.’ He listens to every third word women say. Those who stood up to him paid a price,” she said. “I stood up to him once and he filed a complaint against me to Russo.”
She said another female employee who complained about Hill was given a “Needs Improvement” letter for something that had occurred two years before.
She said that Hill also performed outside legal work on state time. “That’s payroll fraud,” she said. Asked by LouisianaVoice if that could be proven, she said, “Only by checking his state computer.”
And while Gauthreaux preceded the “Me Too” movement, the work environment at LDH apparently remains hostile for female employees.
Gauthreaux, for example, never received a promotion to Attorney 2 in her two years at LDH and received one pay increase of $1,638 per year, Hill saw his pay increase by $5,720 per year, one of those raises coming only a couple of months after Gauthreaux’s lawsuit was filed and another beginning on Jan. 1 this year, which brought his annual salary to $99,800.
During that same period, Russo saw his salary increase by $7,930, to $138,500 per year.
Triumvirate Cronies
Kathleen Callaghan, a former supervisory attorney for LDH who is now retired, is also familiar with the triumvirate of Hill, Russo and $140,300-per-year LDH General Counsel 3 Kimberly Humbles.
“They’re all cronies who pal around together,” Callaghan said. “They retaliated against Bethany, they retaliated against me and they retaliated against other female employees. Weldon Hill is a typical predator who ingratiates himself with Russo and Humbles and they in turn protect him.”
She said she was told by higher ups that Gauthreaux wasn’t strong enough. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me? She took on the whole bunch and she prevailed.’ Nobody else in a supervisory position would stand up for her. She had to stand up for herself. Hill should have been put on administrative leave immediately when that suit was filed,” she said. “He should be gone.”
Callaghan said she once was accused of being AWOL by the same supervisor who had approved her two-week vacation. “My vacation started just a couple of days before Bethany’s lawsuit was filed, so they thought I’d ducked out. In reality, my vacation had been approved in advance but for whatever reason, they never checked that until I pointed it out to them,” she said. “And they’re supposed to be lawyers.”
Timing Bathroom Breaks
She said Hill keeps tabs on when subordinates leave their desks and how long they’re gone. “If he has time to do that, he isn’t busy enough,” Callaghan said. “He needs something to keep him busy besides keeping track of how long people spend in the bathroom. He is a Third-Party Administrator, which is just filing liens. He generates letters, something a clerical could do. He needs to be transferred to federal court where he can keep busy doing what he should be doing.”
Asked by LouisianaVoice why LDH Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee hasn’t taken action to keep LDH from further liability exposure, Callaghan said, “I don’t think Dr. Gee is even aware of the lawsuit. I think they kept a lid on it and she doesn’t even know about it.”
She said former LDH Secretary Kathy Kliebert once was informed of similar problems. “Her response was we should all go on retreat together. I’m sorry, but that’s not a solution,” she said, indicating that someone with authority needs to step in and clean up LDH’s legal department.
At some time, the message must sink in that just because you’re in a supervisory capacity, you cannot, must not, attack, subvert, or destroy a person’s dignity and self-respect.
Louisiana Voice 
I can only hope with all that is happening. With Bethesda being investigated in Mississippi. That New Bethany is not far behind. Southern Poverty is behind the investigation. I have sent them all I have on New Bethany and hope it will be enough to start the ball rolling.
Amazing that a whole bunch of attorneys, including, apparently, the victim, are not aware of state and federal laws regarding reporting of sexual harassment and retaliation for reporting it. Did the victim ever go to Human Resources to complain? HR is REQUIRED to take action when a complaint is made. Was the LDH HR director afraid of the triumvirate of top lawyers? Afraid enough to break the law and be held to account? Did anyone go to Civil Service? Obviously Ms. Gauthreaux finally filed a lawsuit and won, but felt she had to quit her job to get relief. Laws and state policies are designed to prevent that.
Several years ago a top administrator at the state agency I worked for was observed continually harassing a female subordinate. The victim was young and too frightened to say anything. Other employees went to HR to complain. HR correctly took action, the legal division was involved and after an investigation proved the allegations, the bad guy was given a letter of intent to terminate. He got a lawyer, but she learned that many people had observed the harassment personally and that her client should be in jail for assault. The administrator was terminated. The young woman was offered counseling through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). That’s the way it’s supposed to work.
And one more thing. If someone puts their hands on you and it’s unwelcome, that is assault. If a male touches a woman sexually, even if she is clothed, Louisiana law calls that sexual assault. If someone touched me or my daughter in the way Tom described Hill touching Ms. Gauthreaux, it would not happen a second time. She should have slapped the living hell out of him. Or at least pushed him into the nearest wall. What’s he going to do, charge her with assault? How would he explain the reason she had to physically defend herself?
We’ve all been through the wars and been fearful of losing our jobs. But continued unwelcome sexual touching and comments should be dealt with harshly. Women need to stand up and refuse to take it. The day is past when it’s alright for boys to be boys and that’s just how it is.
What’s the end to this story, Tom? Since the state had to pay out thousands of taxpayer dollars to defend and settle this lawsuit, have the perpetrator and those who shielded him and retaliated against the victim been sanctioned? And why not?
How could HR not have been aware of this and therefore the LDH Secretary not been made aware of it by the director of HR? To sue under the Civil Rights Act, as identified in the settlement, you first need to file a complaint with the EEOC, which notifies your employer’s HR that you have done that. I’m no lawyer and might have that wrong, but there is something not adding up here. How can you have a situation so vile, with lawsuits and people no doubt talking about it, without the employer’s HR being involved? And does HR not produce an annual report that lists such major situations? And does the LDH Secretary or assistant no read those reports? #TimesUp bureaucrats. Get your act together or find yourselves another six figure cush job at the taxpayers’ expense.
It’s all getting COMPLETELY out of hand.
As if everything else Rusty Stutes did with Billy Broussard (absurd restraining order prohibiting even talking with Police Jury and Drainage District or seeking ANY kind of public record) isn’t bad enough, you must wonder if he wasn’t trying to entrap Billy into sexual harassment by his encouragement in the following email:
Click to access Smooch.pdf
The first leg of the email appears to be Broussard’s wife (whom I think has free access to his email) openly questioning about what Stutes is talking about in encouraging someone to “sneak a smooch from him in the conference room.”
Incredible!!
Mr. Aswell and Burns wouldn’t the AG’s office have jurisdiction to intervene since the AG’s office is approving these Attorneys contracts?
I would assume it would create a conflict of interest in the case with Mr. Rusty Stutes and Mrs. Bienvenue since this is Jeff Landry’s (Attorney General) first cousin’s wife.
The AG doesn’t approve agency in-house legal counsel; they are state employees, not contractors. The AG does have final approval on the contract attorney hired to defend LDH but as I said to Earthmother, sexual harassment would not come under the scope of the defendant’s job duties. Accordingly, I do not see where the state owed him a defense. Of course, LDH also was named a defendant and the AG does have a duty to defend state agencies—but not the individual employee in this case. He should have been required to hire his own counsel.
Also, unless I’m mistaken, conflicts of interests do not extend to cousins—just immediate family.
Tom, if taxpayer dollars were paid to Mrs. Gauthreaux as a result of Weldon Hill sexually harassing her at her State Government worksite, do we as taxpayers have a right to file suit to have Hill reimburse the State?
Maybe we need a state law like this one currently before Congress:
https://www.axios.com/bipartisan-bill-would-end-use-of-tax-funds-to-settle-sexual-harassment-cases-1516307213-a267c755-9dfa-4201-8f05-e25ca3668508.html
Agree with you, Mr. Winham. Public agencies – taxpayer money – should not be expended to defend and settle lawsuits against employees for their personal behavior. The state should not be liable for harassment – there are laws, rules, policies, continual training – anyone who works for the state of Louisiana should know that sexual harassment, and any behavior that creates a hostile work environment, is not to be tolerated.
People who make others miserable should have to pay the price from their own funds. Cases in point – several lawsuits against an outrageous high level administrator (read LA Voice) who terminated or forced out a number of career staff, and made work life a living hell for many others. The judgments against the state plus attorneys’ fees are close to $1 million now, with more to come. This was personal behavior, and the state should not defend that. We have perennial fiscal crises – we taxpayers should not be shelling out our money to pay for someone’s ugly behavior. There are many, many such cases involving lawmakers and employees. Enough is enough. Make the bad guys pay their own bills,
Earthmother, as I understand the statutes only protect employees if the litigation concerns their doing something that was in the scope of their employment. The Latin term is respondeat superior (Let the master answer). If the employee was not acting under advice of legal counsel and the action did not comport with his job duties, then he should be held personally liable for any judgment.
What of the hostile workplace, per se? Should the offender’s superior(s) be held personally accountable for not having stopped,prevented, or reported the offensive behavior to HR even if they received no direct complaints? Could the buck be passed all the way up to the state and/or its governor in such cases? I don’t know. I’m asking. Maybe a lot of such issues have now been resolved.
Mr. Winham – my opinion – and that’s all it is – is that anyone who is aware of their subordinates’ inappropriate behavior is obligated to step in and discipline the person they supervise. And report it to HR. Otherwise, the supervisor is complicit and responsible, the same as the wrong-doer. All state agencies have policies regarding harassment and discrimination.
At one agency, supervisors (several upline) were painfully aware that a high level person was severely harassing a same-sex person. It was professional jealousy, not sexual harassment. The entire unit was suffering from the workplace hostility. Management counseled the bad guy, who was told to stop the behavior at once or face serious consequences. The person continued the harassment – and on the day s/he became eligible for retirement, was told to retire that very day or be terminated. The person had planned to work for several more years. Was told to go now or lose their retirement due to termination for serious infractions of law and policy, having been warned repeatedly. The bad guy retired. Kudos to enlightened management for handling the situation and keeping their own hands clean.
Thanks.
Appalling to think that as far as we have come as a society we still have such jurassic activity allowed to happen in the workplace. Basic common sense and dignity should prevail as a standard and not require special intervention!
Jindalites????Tom, I think I remember giving about a thousand classes, re sexual harassment, was a requirement after about 1998??I guess I failed. Civil service is totally broken and needs to be fixed. I agree with earthmother and Ms. Callaghan,(can’t believe she has retired) love always ron Thompson
Yet another reason to get rid of these appointed positions to head agencies. They do not do anything but suck up tax dollars for political payoff.
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_a860e720-f254-11e7-82c0-434f338d1687.html
1.Why was this sexual harassment lawsuit settlement left off the published list???
2.Who picked Keogh Cox to defend DHH?
3.How much did that law firm bill the State???
4.How much does all of this really cost besides the $40K paid in settlement????
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