Release harassment report, attorney says

An internal Salt Lake County report looking into the sexual-harassment allegations from within the county clerk's office should be made public, according to an attorney for the Deseret Morning News.

Last August, a 3rd District judge allowed attorney Jeff Hunt to review the report, which was deemed by county officials as not open to the public. Hunt was allowed to view the 48-page report to prepare his legal argument but not allowed to share the document with the Deseret Morning News.

"My review of the report leads me to believe very strongly that this is a public record," Hunt, an expert in open government records law, said. "The public, in particular the taxpayers of Salt Lake County, have a right to see this."

Over objections by Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Valerie Wilde, Judge Tyrone Medley allowed Hunt to review the document to determine if its contents could be released under the Government Records Access Management Act (GRAMA).

County officials argued that they had already deemed the document private and had considered the Deseret Morning News' request for the record in an "internal hearing process." However, Hunt argued rather than taking the county's word for it, he wanted to review the document himself with the agreement that he would not release any details until Medley ruled.

The dispute arose after the paper began investigating claims by employees of the county clerk's office of alleged sexual harassment by former chief deputy clerk Nick Floros. Specifically, former employee Marcia Rice filed a federal court suit against Floros and the county, which was later settled by the county.

In response to the allegations, the county hired two independent employment attorneys to conduct an investigation but did not release the results to the public.

"Without seeing the report itself the public cannot determine what kind of investigation was conducted into these allegations," Hunt said.

The county has argued the report should not be disclosed because it has an obligation to ensure the privacy of employees who bring sexual-harassment allegations. Disclosure would also infringe on the county's investigation process.

Hunt said Rice's identity was made public when she filed her suit against the county, and as for investigation, the county finished that a long time ago.

Hunt said he has filed a 43-page memorandum to the court outlining his argument to make the document public. Because the memorandum talks about details in the report it was filed under seal.

The next step is for the county to file a reply brief and then a hearing, which could be held in February at the soonest, Hunt said.

Newspaper managers have argued that the public has a right to review the behavior of those whose salaries are paid with tax dollars and what steps, if any, government officials take to address inappropriate behavior.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com